Figure 1.-- The Liberation of the Netherlands was not all flag waving and tossing boquets. Noth the Cabaduans and Dutch people paid a price. Here a little injured Dutch girl waiting for medical treatment at a Red Cross aid station which was housed in a local primary school at Ten Boer, Groningen Province. Her name is Betsy Wieringa. The Wieringa family had taken shelter with acquaintances in Appingedam because they had a cellar in which to hide. But they were hit by shrapnel. Betsy, who was 6 years old at the time, was injured in her hand and foot. Betsy's mother got shrapnel in her arm, Her arm has been paralyzed since then. She was taken to a hospital in Groningen by the Canadians. Betsy was driven to the Red Cross aid station in Ten Boer. Betsy also had a 3-year-old brother. He was also injured. The last thing he said was, 'I'm going to sleep, I'm tired.' The boy was also taken to a hospital in Groningen, but to a different hospital then his mother. His father found him there later, but he had already passed away by then. Betsy lived a full life, passing away in 1994.
Groninhen was the northern-most Dutch province. The largest city was Groninhen and the a battle tp liberate the cuty was fought there (April 14-18, 1945). The occuopying Germans mixture of German Whermacht soldiers supported by Dutch and Belgian SS troops. There were also substantialnumbers of Luftwaffe units manning anti-aircradt sartillery because the Nertherlands was part of the German Kammhuber Line--air defance system. They were manned by Luftwaffe soldiers, not the Hitler Youth boys manning many such emplscements iun the Reich. Groningen was also the site of the headquarters for the Sicherheitsdienst (SS) operations in the North of the Netherlands. The German command structure was weak and the defending units had never exercised together. The Germans had about 7,000 men in all. They were attacked by the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division. The whole division was not commited at any given time. The Canadians had nine infantry battalions, a machine gun battalion, and a reconnaissance battalion, and three combat engineer companies (Royal Canadian Engineers). It was battle trested with a proportion of recenly added partially trained reinforcements. Armor support was suplied by the 10th Armoured Regiment (The Fort Garry Horse) and the 9th Armoured Regiment (The British Columbia Dragoons). Because of the Germsn artillery, there were extensive civilisn casualties. The Academic Hospital of Groningen set up a Red Crioss post in the public primary school of Ten Boer. Injured civiiians eceived medical care. Many of the victims had shrapnel wounds. The main square and the Grote Markt were largely destroyed in the Battle, hoiwever, the church Martinitoren, the Goudkantoor, and the city hall were undamaged. This action suceeded in liberating the Dutch eastern and northern provinces. Thus the Dutch liberatione to the far north was completed with the liberation of Groningen.
