1940 - 1945: German troops in the Ede barracks

On 10 May 1940, the German army invaded the Netherlands. Despite resistance by Dutch hussars to the east of Ede, the town fell into German hands on the evening of 10 May. In the following days, the Dutch army continued to put up fierce resistance to the west of Ede, at De Klomp and on the Grebbeberg hill. Bombardments aimed at German troops from the Grebbe Line caused considerable damage in Ede and Lunteren. On 15 May, the Dutch army surrendered and the German occupation began, which was to last for five years.

German army units began moving into the various Ede barracks as early as 12 May 1940. Most of the seven barracks, built between 1904 and 1940, were then given new German names. Simon Stevin Barracks was renamed Langenberg Barracks. This complex had almost been completed and construction was finished under German authority. Elias Beeckman Barracks retained its name. Both barracks were occupied by the Waffen-SS (special German military units whose members were fanatical adherents of the Nazi ideology).

The artillery barracks (Arthur Kool Barracks, Van Essen Barracks and P.L. Bergansius Barracks) were merged to form Bismarck Barracks and accommodated the Ortskommandantur (the office of the German local military commander) and various Wehrmacht units. The Kriegsmarine, the German navy, trained sailors in the old infantry barracks (Johan Willem Friso Barracks and Maurits Barracks). These were renamed to Kommodore Bonte Barracks.

German army units were also accommodated in other parts of Ede Municipality. In Deelen, the airstrip was expanded into a full-scale airbase: Fliegerhorst Deelen (Deelen Airbase). The firing range in Harskamp was also taken into service by the Germans. Close to Otterlo, they constructed a Waldlager: a barracks in the woods, virtually invisible to Allied aircraft.

Various German army units settled in Lunteren as well. From November 1944, the Sicherheitsdienst (SD: the SS intelligence agency) was accommodated in Hotel De Wormshoef in Lunteren.

When the front line between the Germans and the Allies shifted to the Rhine from September 1944 onwards, the Germans built artillery emplacements on De Ginkel, in Ede-Zuid and in Bennekom.

Do you want to experience this sotry in its original location? Then visit the information panel at the intersection of the Kazernelaan and Verbindelaarsweg in Ede.

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Ede Barracks

Why exactly were military camps and barracks set up in Ede?

After the introduction of compulsory military conscription in 1901, various military camps and barracks arose in the vast Veluwe region. The Veluwe was appealing because of the cheap land prices, the low population density (limited nuisance), the accessibility via the existing roads and railroads and most of all the proximity of the extensive training grounds.

More about Ede's barracks