Ede, Holland 1945

[Hanno Spoelstra]

I did a bit of research and Ronald van Riet of the Platform Military History Ede told me these photos were taken at hotel-restaurant De Langenberg. A quick search in the internet yielded some more info.

Shortly after the war ended, around the time Jon's father was there, a small military museum was established. The association "Oorlogsherinnering - Museum Ede" (War remembrance - Museum Ede) was selling ashtrays made from the tins in which food was distributed in April-May 1945 (see Operation Faust). By selling 40,000 ashtrays they hoped to make a profit of 20,000 Guilders to buy De Langenberg and the terrain next to it. Before the war, the owner had built some barracks to house groups for school holidays. A Scouting group also was housed there, but they could not return after the war because of the plans for the museum. During the war, these barracks were used to house NSB (Dutch national-socialist party) youth, horses, and then the roofing material was used for defense trenches. The remains were sold off and Canadian Army had levelled the terrain with bulldozers. Note: in Jon's first and second photo the buildings in the background seem to be in a reasonable condition. So these are other buildings than the barracks next to De Langenberg? I think De Langenberg itself can be seen in the background of the third picture.

Somehow the museum association managed to collect the Panther, Sherman Crab and Char B1 they even managed to source a small submarine. No doubt the transportation was done by a Canadian Army unit, probably the same one which did the levelling of the terrain. Reportedly, the Panther's gun was still live - and loaded - and kids often played in it. (I doubt the gun was really still loaded as no doubt the playing kids would have found a way to fire it.)

In September 1946 the Association decided not to proceed with their plans for the museum, as the local government wanted only one war museum in the region and Arnhem (approx. 20 kms. away) was deemed a more appropriate location. The intention of the Association was to support the formation of the regional museum by donating all the artefacts they had collected, but it is unknown where the artefacts ended up. None of the tanks nor the submarine went to what would become the Airborne Museum at Oosterbeek, though possibly smaller artefacts went there. Ronald van Riet assumes they went to the Overloon War Museum. I am not sure about the Panther, but the Sherman Crab is not the one in the Overloon museum and the Overloon museum has never had a Char B1. I reckon they were scrapped as there was an enormous need for scrap metal in the early postwar years.

De Langenberg is still a restaurant today. In 1990, a Sherman M4(105) was placed on the other side of the road as a memorial for the Canadian liberators - see Google streetview for a current view of the location.


References (accessed on 17 December 2020):

1. Hotel-restaurant De Langenberg: https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Langenberg
2. Langenberg Scouting group: https://www.langenberggroep.nl/about...ggroep-deel-2/
3. Ashtray made from food tins (photo attached): https://www.goedgevonden.info/verzam...logsmuseum-ede
4. Google streetview: https://goo.gl/maps/Yv5sh79oTC4vVAyL7
5. Pre-war photo of De Langenberg (attached) in Gemeentearchief Ede: https://www.archieval.nl/detail.php?...394&id=1370031
6. Edese Courant newspaper (attached), 13 November 1946: https://www.archieval.nl/detail.php?...5&id=244005339

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Edese Courant 13-Nov-1946.jpg

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