1945 re-enacted in Appingedam

For the next two days, there are battles in Appingedam. Today, and Sunday, March 30, the center of the town is uniquely dedicated to celebrating 80 years of freedom, as actor-soldiers reenact the liberation of 1945, the end of WW II.
The goal is to turn the clock back 80 years. For two days, the center of Appingedam becomes a battlefield again, with ‘German and Canadian soldiers’ clashing. Ultimately, tomorrow, Sunday afternoon, the German occupiers will be defeated.

Reenactment is the portrayal of living history, and the actor-soldiers put on an impressive spectacle from the very start. Today, Appingedam is still under German occupation. Resistance fighters guide the already present Canadians through the town and point out where the Germans are stationed.
In the Solwerderstraat, resistance fighters and Canadian soldiers work together on plans to drive out the Germans. As a spectator, I witnessed firsthand the harsh conditions under which these plans were made and the dangers everyone faced.
Visitors were also allowed a glimpse inside the German headquarters at the town hall. Panic was already setting in there, as the Germans desperately tried to extract information from the local population through interrogations.
Bicycles were requisitioned, and resistance fighters were captured. In short, at every corner of the Solwerderstraat, Dijkstraat, or Wijkstraat, short scenes were performed. Shoppers could easily find themselves caught in the middle of a war situation.

Part II tomorrow, althought we will also be celebrating Annemarie's birthday. Maybe I'll put an extra in about the 1945 re-enacted liberation. Today was already quite spectacular. What was weird was the fact that every now and then I heard a remark from other visitors saying that we can only hope history will not repeat again.

An old man on a bicycle who passed us by, told me he was getting goosebumps from seeing and hearing all those loud, angry, frightened Germans again. He remembered similar scenes from when he was a very little boy. "Dat gait joen kop nooit meer oet jong!" he told me.