This is a special place, something to think about! This is where 5 hostages were shot dead by the German occupiers in World War II.
It was an execution in retaliation for an attack by the Rotterdam resistance.

Five innocent people were murdered here on 15 August 1942 to ensure that people would not support the resistance. Forester van Heerebeek discovered the fusillade at the time and, together with Mr van Puijenbroek, went to investigate when the Germans had gone. It was only after the war that the grave was dug up and the bodies recovered. The poles the hostages were tied to had also been thrown into the grave. These poles can still be seen in the museum of 't Heem on the new Rielseweg.

The five hostages were: Mr Robert Baelde(aged 35), Willem Ruys (aged 47), Otto Ernst Gelder (aged 49), Christoffel Bennekers (aged 48) and Alexander, Baron Schimmelpenninck van der Oije (aged 29).

The two men of nobility, Schimmelpenninck van der Oye and Count van Limburg Stirum were actually buried at the execution site at Gorp & Roovert; the other three were not, they were handed over to their families and buried in their hometowns....

In August 1945, this image appeared in the News of the South to announce the grand wreath laying that would take place a day later.

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