Local knowledge and historic landscapes. The case studies of Camp Vught and the urn field of Slabroek.

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Appendices

Part of the MA-thesis ‘Local knowledge & historic landscapes. The case studies of Camp Vught and the urn field of Slabroek.’

Carlijn Hageraats University of Amsterdam, 2014

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Of the young heritagescape of camp Vught, four periods of time were distinguished based on how the local community told about the past. The first and oldest period of time is far before camp Vught, which is only mentioned by the respondents because many refer to the Lunettes as an important feature in the landscape. This is followed by the second period in which camp Vught functioned during the Second World War, because of the current monumental status of camp Vught and its focus on remembering the Second World War still one of the most important periods of remembrance among the local community. Then the third period after the Second World War, in which the terrain obtained many different functions and was still in use by several groups of local inhabitants. And finally the fourth period, the present, focussing on the current monumental status of camp Vught, which was not mentioned in any of the interviews but exists as a ‘lieux de memoire’ for camp Vught during the Second World War.

III.1 Camp Vught before the Second World War

The questions in the interviews focussed primarily on the period of Camp Vught. However, one much older historical feature in the landscape is so prominently visible, that all

respondents mentioned it: the “Lunetten”. Even though all respondents know about their existence, they do not seem to know much more about them.

Knowledge of the Lunettes is of the fourth type, it is based on expert knowledge. This can be concluded from the use of words that clearly come from books, as Napoleon, Willem II and Willem III. Besides the use of these words, there is the mentioning that this knowledge was learned at school. Moreover, the only respondent who did not go to school because he grew up in a poor family during the Second World War (= Respondent 3) had a completely different explanation for the Lunettes, describing them as objects that have always been there and connecting them with something he knows about: the living quarters Lunettes.

Knowledge of the Lunettes deriving from expert knowledge can be explained by the far-away past of the Lunettes and therefore the lack of personal memories and stories that are passed on about these historical sites.

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III.2 Camp Vught during the Second World War

The most emphasized period is when camp Vught functioned as a concentration camp during the Second World War. Stories are primarily based on personal experiences and on stories as told by older family members. All the sites that were mentioned during the interviews and had a connection with camp Vught at the time are explained and the connection is specified. An overview is given on map 2.

III.2.1 Provision of services

Camp Vught did not function solely on its own. The concentration camp inmates, as well as the camp guards, were supported through many different organs, providing services to keep everything running.

1a. Cromvoirt

Cromvoirt was, besides Vught, the closest village to the concentration camp. German guards found farms where they could live so they did not have to stay in the camp all the time, and refugees found places to hide. All fragments about the role of Cromvoirt during the Second World War are either based on own experiences (type 1), or based on stories from older family members (type 2).

Respondent 1: I always though the Lunettes were made by Napoleon, but in school I learned they are made by Willem III for the siege of ’s Hertogenbosch. There are about six of them, in the middle they are incremented with sand. Respondent 3: The story of the Lunettes is a strange one. They have always been here, it is a natural appearance at the place of camp Lunettes.

Respondent 5: We always called the Lunettes ‘lake’. We used to ice-skate here during winter. It was a defence made by Willem II.

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1b. The German cemetery

During and after the war, there was a cemetery just behind the concentration camp that was used for Germans. For some time after the war the cemetery was visible and recognizable for its wooden crosses placed on top of the graves. The German cemetery is not visible on the surface anymore, the wooden crosses are gone and the area is overgrown. Knowledge of its presence and location thus comes from personal experience and interaction with the landscape (type 1). However, the identification of the wooden crosses as a German cemetery is based on expert knowledge from the museum (type 4).

Respondent 5: The other side of the ditch (‘de overkant’), was also part of the camp. There was a large German cemetery with many wooden crosses at both sides of the path. As a child, it was very strange for us to walk here. Now, there is nothing to be seen anymore. As a child, I did not know what the wooden crosses were. But when I informed at the museum, they told me it was a German cemetery.

Respondent 6: In the past, there was a cemetery for Germans behind the camp. There were many wooden crosses. Now, there is nothing visible anymore.

Respondent 6: Refugees from camp Vught ran into the woods and hid at the farms nearby. Many of them ended up at a farm in Cromvoirt. Not at the first farm next to the camp, but at the second or the third. There were also refugees hiding at our farm. I do not know if they went in, but I remember they once found one hiding in the rain barrel.

Respondent 6: In our house in Cromvoirt, on the ground floor, German officers who worked at the camp were located, because they were not satisfied with the living conditions at the camp. We lived at the first floor. They brought their own cook, Jacob. He was okay, because he also cooked for us.

Respondent 6: The German officers made a bomb shelter in our backyard, under the large tree. In the end, we could also hide in their shelter because our basement wasn’t safe.

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1c. Farm of the family Roosmalen

Most important reason for mentioning the farm of the family Roosmalen, is its location nearby the camp. According to her story, the Germans made intensive use of it during the Second World War. This information comes from stories as told by family members (type 2), who had a good relationship with the family living at the farm at that time, and from own experience (type 1). Moreover, the farm appears to be known as a ‘farm of the camp’ by the local community (type 3).

1d. Pig stable

One of the other ‘farms of the camp’ was a pig stable, providing the Germans in the camp with meat. A path from the road to the stable was built with the labour forces of prisoners. Until recently, the ruins of the pig stable were visible on the ground. However, during our visit they were overgrown with blackberry bushes. Knowledge of the pig stable comes from own experience (type 1), especially the parts about later use and decay of the building. Other information about the use by Germans during the Second World War probably comes from stories of older family members (type 2) or because it is common knowledge among the local community (type 3).

Respondent 6: Just behind the camp was the farm of the family Roosmalen, at a place now within the boundaries of defence. It stood very close to the walls of the camp. Our parents forbid us to come close to the camp, but I did go to the farm of the family Roosmalen, because our friends lived here. It was also a shelter of the Germans. Because it was so close to the camp, people refer to this place and to the nearby pig stable as ‘the farms of the camp’.

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12 III.2.2 Provision of food

2a. Huize Bergen

Huize Bergen and the family van Beuningen are well known in the area for their social work. They distributed food packages during the Second World War and made sure they were delivered to camp Vught. Information is probably based on reading (type 4). However, one of the respondents is a son of the distributor van Gent en Loos, therefore the information can also come from his father or grandfather (type 2).

III.2.3 Recreation

3a. de IJzeren man (the Iron man) / 3b. het Duitse bad (the German bath)

‘The German bath’ is part of ‘the Iron man’, one of the most popular recreational places in the area of Vught. ‘The German bath’ is a name given to a part of the beach as a result of the Second World War and the claim of the Germans on this part of the beach. Almost everyone mentioned ‘the German bath’ as common knowledge and as referring to the Second World War. Respondents knew where the name came from, and mentioned that it is just something ‘everyone knows’ (type 3).

Respondent 1: The family Beuningen lived at Huize Bergen. They had a farm, where my father went to with van Gent en Loos, collected the food packages and then brought them to camp Vught, together with the other packages and messages.

Respondent 6: Close to the house I grew up is an old pig stable. It burned down a couple of years ago and now there is only a ruin left. At the time of the concentration camp, the stable was used by the Germans to keep pigs for their meat. They made the inmates of the camp built a path from the road to the stable. Now, only a green path is left, the stones are buried under the ground but sometimes you can find one at the surface. Due to the many blackberry bushes, the ruins of the stable are not visible anymore. But during winter, you can still see the ruins through the bushes.

Respondent 6: After the war, a shepherd, called Voets, used the pig stable for a while. When he left, his brother-in-law lived here for a short time. Afterwards it fell into decay and burned down about 15 years ago, probably because vandals from the neighbourhood make a fire in the empty building.

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13 III.2.4 Logistics/transport

4a. Vughtse Heide (Vughtse Heath)

The Vughtse Heath is a part of nature that was not destroyed with the building of the camp and it forms the buffer between the village Vught and camp Vught. The stripping of airplanes at the Vughtse Heath as presented here is of type 2, which is extraordinary for this respondent that has most information from books.

4b. trainstation Vught

The trainstation in Vught was a very important site for camp Vught, because this is where the people for the camp arrived and were deported. They walked from the station to the camp and vice versa, crossing the Vughtse heath. The train station is a site that was described by two respondents from another generation. The first tells about what he reads in books and

newspapers (type 4), while the second tells what he witnessed as a child (type 1). This is only possible with events from a relatively recent past.

Respondent 1: Many things happened at the Vughtse Heath during Second World War. For example, airplanes were demolished and stripped for their aluminium parts. I heard this from my father, I do not know if it is true.

Respondent 1: I know the German bath because I heard about it from my mother’s side of the family. Everyone of my age from this area knows the German bath.

Respondent 2: The teahouse of the Iron Man is situated at the beach. At the western part, the beach was partly protected by woods. This part of the beach we call ‘the German bath’. In the past it was a private terrain of the Germans, and still everyone knows it as ‘the German bath’.

Respondent 6: I walk around ‘the Iron man’ two times a week, it is a beautiful area. Moreover, it is an area connected with the history of the Germans. At the Iron man, there is a beach where only Germans were allowed in the past. This part is still known as ‘the German bath’. As kids we used to think that we made the name up, until we heard other people using the same name.

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4c. Distribution site van Gent en Loos

Van Gent en Loos was an organisation that took care of the distribution of packages in the Netherlands. They brought packages from and to Camp Vught during the Second World War, as well as during later periods. The respondent telling about van Gent en Loos is the son of the man who brought the packages to camp Vught, he also lived in the same house. His stories are probably based on what his father told him (type 2). Moreover, his father was interviewed for a couple of books, which the respondent also read; therefore the information is also of type 4.

Respondent 1: My father and grandfather worked for van Gent en Loos. The doorstep of our house is completely worn out because of all the people visiting my father to send a package or a message. Especially during war, many people made use of our services. My grandfather brought packages with a horse and a car. Just behind the house, there was a large secret storage for the packages that could not be found by the Germans. The doors of this secret storage are now at the museum.

Respondent 1: The packages of van Gent en Loos were brought inside the camp. When we cleaned out my father’s house after he died, we found many detailed administration of van Gent en Loos about the camp: for example, lists with names of people who were inmates of the camp. We gave this information to the museum.

Respondent 1: the trainstation is an important place because of its role with regard to Camp Vught during Second World War. Prisoners arriving at the station in Vught walked over the ‘Loonse baan’ to the Vughtse heath, towards the camp. Just outside the station, there is a square where people arriving with the train were collected, before walking towards camp Vught. Some people made pictures from it throughout the window; I saw them in the newspaper. When I was a child, I used to play at this square.

Respondent 7: I was ten years old when the war broke out. I saw how the trains full of people arrived at station Vught and how they walked to camp Vught. I was too young to realize what was happening, but I stayed out of their way: I was afraid that, if I did something wrong, I had to join them in the line.

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4d. ‘het spoorlijntje’ (the small railway)

The small railway was built near camp Vught, it was only in use during the Second World War. This information comes by respondent 3 from personal experience (type 1), and by the others from expert knowledge and books (type 4).

III.2.5 Storage

5a. building material

In front of the camp, building material as bricks were stored and from there brought into the camp. It is told that this was a way to smuggle messages and packages inside the camp. Mr. van der Pas, the father of respondent 2 and father-in-law of respondent 3, had a central role in the smuggling of messages and food to the camp. Even though respondent 3 tells it like he was there himself, both got the information from long conversations with Mr. van der Pas about the Second World War and Camp Vught (type 2).

Respondent 2: My father was an intermediary of the camp: he took care of the transport of messages and food packages in- and outside the camp. He saw many things that happened inside the camp and it made him very sad. He told us a lot about it when we were children, about the suffering and the despondency because he couldn’t do anything.

Respondent 3: In front of the building were piles of bricks, where we hid letters, messages and sandwiches to smuggle them inside the camp.

Respondent 3: As children, we already knew they were building a railway at Vughtse heath. No one talked about it, but we played at the Vughtse heath so we noticed what was happening. We saw one railway line being built, with sleepers, and at the last moment the second railway line.

Respondent 4: At the current restaurant Brac was a small railway that was probably used for the transport of goods.

Respondent 6: At the current restaurant Brac near the Loonse Baan was a small railway. I do not know exactly what was transported here, but I think it was the transport of goods. It was not for inmates, because they had to walk from the station in Vught.

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5b. riding school

Near Vught there was a riding school, where personal properties of the people deported to camp Vught were stored. Kids from the neighbourhood knew about it and took advantage, because they had to make some money for their families. Information about the riding school is from own experience (type 1), but can also be based on what other people have told (type 2).

III.2.6 Countermovement

6a. Regina Coelie

There was a school at the monastery of Regina Coely. But during the Second World War it was also used for people hiding. Respondents from different ages know the monastery by its different functions. Information about Regina Coelie is partly based on own experience (type 1) but also based on stories by other family members (type 2).

6b. ‘het padje’ (the path)

People hiding used ‘the path’ during war; it goes in the direction of Helvoirt and eventually Tilburg. The path still exists but is not accessible anymore because of a fence placed in front of it. Information about ‘the path’ is based on personal experience (type 1) because people know of its current presence through observation of the path behind the fence. Information of its use during the Second World War is based on stories from older family members.

Respondent 2: Regina Coely was a monastery with French nuns. I was in class B; we were prepared for the school in domestic science. The A-class was prepared for MMS. With our class, we had to come to the garden and sing for Riveranda Mère. We also had to go in retreat with our class; a week of prayer.

Respondent 3: During Second World War, people were hiding at Regina Coelie. The monastery kept its cellars available for the countermovement, where the influential people, which later moved to Leiden and The Hague, coordinated their activities. They knew exactly who was inside the camp.

Respondent 3: As kids we knew about the Germans storing everything they took from the Jews in the riding school. We broke the window in the back and took everything that was made of leather, to make straps for wooden shoes. These we could sell. We were with nine children at home and we did not have a father, so this was a way to make some money to survive. We had no other choice.

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17 III.2.7 Part of heritage site

7a. execution place

The execution place is known by all respondents but not extensively explained. Its presence and function seemed obvious to them. Moreover it is known as a part of the national

monument camp Vught. Respondent 3 talks from his own experience when he speaks of the collecting of lead bullets at the execution place (type 1). However, burying of the dead inside the camp is probably based on what he heard from his father in law (type 2).

7b. Camp Vught

Camp Vught is the heritage site around which the heritagescape is centred. Even though the interviews focussed on the surrounding landscape and respondents did not see the camp from inside during the Second World War, some stories about the camp itself came up during the interviews. Stories were told as personal memories (type 1). However, some memories are based on stories from elder family members (type 2), or on expert knowledge (type 4).

Respondent 3: Close to the camp, near the execution place, were some trees that functioned to catch the bullets. As children, we collected the lead and traded it for food.

Respondent 3: After execution, the dead were placed on wooden cars and brought back to the camp. There, they were burned.

Respondent 2: ‘the path’ is close to the Helvoirtse weg and the Overweg. It was an important road for people hiding in Brabant, and it was running in between the railway and ‘the Iron man’. The first parachutist that crashed in Vught was brought to French territory with the assistance of my uncle, following this path. Respondent 4: The path that was followed by people hiding was close to the current restaurant Brac, near the Vughtse Heath. The path is still there, it is visible, but there is a fence placed in from of it.

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7c. House of ‘Roucouleur’

The Roucouleur is based close to Vught, it was supposed to be the headquarter of the SS during the Second World War. Information about the Roucouleur is based on a personal story as told by an eyewitness (type 2). Additional information was found through the Internet and Google (type 4).

Respondent 1: A colleague of my father told me about the Roucouleur and how it used to be the headquarter of the SS in Vught. When you had to show up at the Roucouleur, and you had to climb the stairs of the building, you were in deep trouble. That is what he told me, but it is only a story. I do not know if it is true. Respondent 1: The Roucouleur is a national monument. It is a large and majestic villa, of which many were present in Vught in the past. Most of them were demolished with the construction of the highway A2.

Respondent 3: I and my father-in-law were the first to go into the camp after the war ended. We went to a couple of buildings, among which the main building. As a little boy, I have seen the gallows they used inside the camp and I measured it. At school, I learned how to make a technical drawing, so I draw the gallows. Within 14 days they removed the gallows, but because of my drawing we now know how it looked like. It was not a usual one because the prisoners did not fall through a hatch in the floor; instead, they were pulled up. Therefore, the measurements are different: it was 3 meters high instead of 2 meters.

Respondent 6: When I was born, the area where the camp now stands was a large, green area, like the Vughtse Heath. We liked to make long walks here; on Sundays we went to the woods. I remember that, one day, people were carrying stones and building things. We thought it was very strange they demolished a part of the woods. We saw them making towers and buildings, that is when our parents told us to NEVER come there again. Of course, we were children, and we did not always listen to our parents. There was a farm next to the camp and we used to play with these children, and then we could check out the camp.

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19 III.2.8 Other

8a. Marta’s house

Marta’s house is an old and small house of monumental value, where Marta, the maid of the family of respondent 6, used to live. She died a couple of years ago. During war, she was about 20 years old. There was a bomb shelter close to her house, where people from the neighbourhood used to hide at the end of the Second World War. The presence of the house of Marta is information based on personal experience (type 1). However, stories about the function of the house are retold by someone else (type 2).

III.3 Camp Vught after the Second World War

III.3.1 Provision of services

1a. Het Ambonese kamp / Lunetten / Woonoord Lunetten (living quarter Lunettes, camp Lunettes, the Ambon camp)

What some respondents recognize as the Ambon camp, is known by others as Lunettes. Both names refer to the re-use of barracks for the accommodation of Moluccan immigrants in 1951-1952. Information about the Ambon camp, or camp Lunettes, is mainly based on personal experience (type 1). However, reference to the site as Ambon camp indicates a shared knowledge among the non-Moluccan local community (type 3), because it is an unofficial naming that is not indicated on any map but still used by the majority of

respondents. Moreover, there is some indication of expert knowledge (type 4) because some basic information can also be found in the current presentation at barrack 1b.

Respondent 6: The house of Marta is of monumental value; it cannot be taken down. She used to be our maid. She was already very old, during war she must have been about 20 years of age. She died a couple of years ago, but before that time she told me some things about her experiences in Second World War. However, she did not want them to be written down. For example, she told me that at the other side of the road, opposite of her house, there was a bomb shelter, where she used to hide during the bombings at the end of Second World War. She was there with a friend from another farm nearby, and her friend noticed she forgot her gold. She went to her house to get the gold, but because she didn’t want to go alone Marta went with her. Together they crawled through the ditches in between the farmlands to the other farm and back to the shelter.

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Respondent 1: When the Ambonese came, they were accommodated in the barracks of camp Vught. I think these were the same buildings as used for prisoners during Second World War. They built new houses for the Moluccans in Vught: in the district called the ‘Vughtse hoeve’. However, they preferred to stay together in the barracks of camp Vught. That is why they built new houses at the same place, in the old style of the barracks.

Respondent 1: After the war, I delivered packages with van Gent en Loos in the Ambon camp. I associate the place rather with the Ambon camp than with the concentration camp.

Respondent 2: Another historical place I remember is the Ambon camp.

Respondent 5: The houses we live in are completely new. In the past, we used to live in barracks from the concentration camp, but they are gone now. The only thing left are the trees, like the one behind the house. Lunettes used to be much larger; it covered all the previous barracks from the concentration camp period. Now there is a prison here and there is only small part left of what used to be the old Lunettes.

Respondent 5: In the past, the camp was full of life. This had to do with the barracks that offered only limited living space for all its inhabitants. Now it is more quite, everyone has their own yard. At the back of the camp, there is a wall against noise. We asked for it ourselves. Lunetten is only about 300 meter, it used to be a couple of thousands of meters. In the past there were 22 barracks, now there are only 12. One barrack is 4-5 houses. In the past, 20 families lived in every barrack.

Respondent 5: Except for our own people, nobody comes here to visit. In the past there was a small store, but not anymore.

Respondent 6: Camp Vught has changed a lot through time. It was inhabited by Moluccans, and they turned it into a prison. The prisoners lived in the barracks. The Moluccan part, you have probably seen it, is now rebuilt. There are also normal houses. At the other side, there are German barracks, the apel place, and the building of the camp commander. The current museum is the last remaining part of the original concentration camp.

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1b. Prison

Part of camp Vught was used as a prison after the Second World War. At first it was a youth detention centre, later it became a prison for heavy criminals. The stories mentioned above are examples of personal experience with the prison (type 1). However, there is also some kind of common knowledge because everyone in the area knows about the prison (type 3).

1c. Moluccan school

There was a school set up especially for the Moluccan immigrants at living quarter Lunettes. It was situated at the terrain of the defense forces and offered education to the Moluccan children but also to the adults. This information all comes from own experience (type 1).

1d. Cromvoirt

Cromvoirt is the first and closest village for inhabitants of living quarter Lunettes, it lies on a walking distance and is even closer than the centre of Vught. Even though Vught offers most

Respondent 5: The terrain of the Moluccan school was surrounded with barbed wire and fences. However, we did not let them stop us; we cut the wire and crawled under it. Then, we went to play in the cornfields. All 400 Moluccan kids went to this school, and there were courses for the adults too.

Respondent 5: Our school used to be at the terrain of the defense forces. After school, we climbed over the ditch and through the fences into the woods. Then we came here, I am glad the path still exists. There is also an old pillar of a bridge, it already stood here before we came but now it is demolished. A little further, there still is a pillar for barbed wire which was in use during the Second World War, it shows this was part of the concentration camp.

Respondent 1: As a young boy I used to help with the delivery service. We delivered many packages with van Gent en Loos, also at the current prison. The prison is built at the same place as where the barracks used to stand.

Respondent 5: Sometimes, people escaped from prison, especially during summer and during carnival when everyone was having fun outside. They wanted to join the party and climbed over the fence. Sometimes one of these guys ran through our garden and asked us to bring him to the train station. We always helped them, of course.

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services to people living at Lunettes, Cromvoirt is the first place to go for small groceries. This information comes from own experience of the respondent (type 1).

III.3.2 Provision of food

2a. Boer van Ooijen

The Moluccan inhabitants of living quarter Lunettes got their food from a soup kitchen. However, they did not like the Dutch food from the kitchen that was prepared for them. They traded it with the farmers in the neighbourhood for farm products, so they could make their own meal on a small gas burner in the barracks. This information comes from own experience of the respondent (type 1).

2b. Nenek Timbang

As van Ooijen, Marta also provided the Moluccans with eggs in return for their food from the soup kitchen. Her house was already mentioned at the time period during the Second World War, but at this later time period she is known as ‘Nenek Timbang’, which means

‘Grandmother Weights’. This information comes from own experience of the respondent (type 1).

2c. Cornfields

Another place where inhabitants of living quarter Lunettes could find food that was not as bad as the food from the soup kitchen, was in the cornfields around their houses. This information comes from own experience of the respondent (type 1).

Respondent 5: At Marta’s place we traded the food from the soup kitchen for eggs, she had a large chicken run. She used to weight the food and then give us eggs in return for every amount we gave her. That is how she got the nickname ‘Nenek Timbang’.

Respondent 5: Van Ooijen had cows and pigs. We used to bring him our leavings from the food kitchen, which he used to feed the pigs. In return he gave us products from the farm, as eggs. He already lived here before we came, but now he is gone.

Respondent 5: When we lived in Lunettes, we sometimes went to Cromvoirt to do shopping. There was a grocery store here.

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23 III.3.3 Recreation

3a. Het Ambon strand (the Ambon beach)

The Ambon beach is part of ‘the Iron man’. The name was given by the Moluccans, resulting from their intensive use of this part of beach. It is situated at the same spot as the German bath, which is known from the Second World War period. This information comes from own experience of the respondent (type 1).

3b. de IJzeren man (the Iron man)

The Iron Man was, also after the Second World War, a popular place to spend free time. This information comes from own experience of the respondent (type 1). There is a differences in perspective when comparing respondent 2 and 4 with respondent 5. The first two were children of the lifeguard of the Iron man, while the third is a respondent that grew up in the neighborhood of the Iron man.

Respondent 5: Part of ‘the Iron man’ is called ‘the German bath’. We thought we made up that name, but later it appeared to be a name well known among many people from the area. Part of the German bath was called ‘Ambon beach’ by us. It was a beautiful white part of the beach, with trees, where many Moluccans, boys and girls, went to sing and play the guitar.

Respondent 5: Opposite to the waste dump are the cornfield, where we used to get our corn. It was good, firm corn, much better than the sweetcorn usually sold in stores. Now these are fields for horses and we have to walk somewhat further for our corn.

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3c. ‘de overkant’ (the other side)

‘The other side’ is a name being used to refer to the other side of the water stream (the Broekleij) that flows behind the camp. This name was used by the Moluccan children that grew up in the living quarter Lunettes; their houses were separated from the woods only by this water stream. The area just behind the living quarter Lunettes is part of the place itself as received by its inhabitants. Information comes from personal experience (type 1).

Respondent 2: I lived above the tea-house of the Iron man until the age of 21, because my father was life guard of the Iron man. I could not leave the house after dark, because of the nearby Ambon camp. Besides the Ambon camp, not many people lived here. There were only three houses from the Spoorweg until the Boslaan. During summer there were many activities, but in the winter it was a lonely place.

Respondent 4: We did a lot of mischief as kids living at the Iron man, they used to suspend us from the swimming pool all the time. One time I heard respondent 2 giving swim-instructions, when I looked out of the window I saw she threw all our chickens in the water, intending to learn them to swim. She was very young at that time.

Respondent 4: There was a 25-meter bath at the Iron man, where swimming lessons were given to children from schools in the region, and where the prisoners and the military went swimming. There were also changing rooms that had to be used, it was strictly forbidden to change on the beach. There were boats patrolling the beaches outside of the official swimming pool, because it was forbidden to swim there.

Respondent 5: My father taught me how to swim at the Iron man, with a floating tree trunk. We did not pay an entrance fee, because there were many parts of the beach where you could swim outside of the official swimming pool. We came here almost every day during summer.

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3d. Dumping ground

At the other side, there was a dumping ground in the sixties/seventies. It still remains here but is now covered with vegetation. At the time it functioned as a dumping ground, but kids from Lunettes also used it as a playing field. Information comes from own experience (type 1) but also from stories told by other kids that used to play here (type 2).

III.3.4 Memorials

4a. Execution place

The execution place is one of the sites strongly connected to camp Vught that is just outside in the woods. It functions as a memorial site for people passing by and those who lived during

Respondent 5: In the sixties and seventies, there was a dumping ground of three meters high at ‘the other side’. It was a districted area with a lot of garbage. Through the ditch there was a flow of black and dirty water. Now, the dumbing ground is covered with vegetation, it is almost invisible. But still, I am afraid the area is very much polluted.

Respondent 5: There were high fences around the dumping ground, but as kids we just climbed over them. It was a very high hill and a lot of fun to play at. There was a small pool of water in the middle of it, which froze in the winter. The kids then used to ice-skate on it.

Respondent 5: As kids we played a lot in this area. At the other side there was a lot of grass, wheat fields and cornfields, where we used to play hide-and-seek. Sometimes it was dangerous to play here, because the area was used for military practices. They used to do shooting practices. Sometimes we stumbled into one of those camouflaged soldiers while playing, which was really scary.

Respondent 5: As a little girl I liked to play in the fields and find my own place to hide. Me and my friends used to tell each other secrets at our hiding places. We know the surroundings so well, we used to come everywhere as kids. All the bushes were flat because we used to walk and play here.

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the Second World War and know about its function in the past. Information comes from conversations with older family members (type 2) and is based on expert knowledge (type 4).

4b. Het jodenbosje (the Jewish forest)

The Jewish forest is the local name of an Israeli burial place in Vught. It is known and mentioned by some of the inhabitants, even though its possible connection with camp Vught is not specified. Information about ‘the Jewish forest’ is presented as common knowledge that everyone in Vught is familiar with (type 3).

III.4 Camp Vught in the present

Currently, camp Vught is commemorated by National Monument Camp Vught, who built a museum at the last remaining part of the camp. It functions as a memorial place for those who experienced the war or are familiar with its stories, and it has an educational function for schoolchildren from the neighbourhood.

Respondent 2: Opposite to Regina Coelie, at the opposite of the Helvoirtse Weg on the way to Tilburg, there is what we call ‘the Jewish forest’. Everyone in Vught knows about this, many Jews were buried there.

Respondent 2: After the war, my father built a cross on the execution site as a memorial. He visited the site often after the war ended, for him it was a place to remember what happened and to commemorate those who died.

Respondent 6: All that is left of camp Vught are the execution place and the buildings with the ovens. There are also ash pits inside the camp. I visit these places at Memorial Day. It is difficult to see and remember.

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VI The old landscape: urn field Slabroekse heide

The old landscape of urn field Slabroekse heide led to stories that covered five time periods, based on what the local community talked about during the interviews. The first period is about the most remote past, about prehistory and excavations that took place in the area. The urn field, representing the centre of the old landscape, is reconstructed and now functions as a ‘lieux de memoires’ of the most remote past. The second period is about a more recent period of time; the First and Second World War, a period that is also mentioned in areas without a national monument as. The third and fourth period are on the recent past and based on recent uses of the landscape, covering the period ‘before’ and the period ‘after’ reparcelling the land. The fifth period is the present, this period focuses on the competition between the nature reserve Maashorst that is built around the urn field, and the farmers that live in the area.

IV Prehistory / excavations

1. Part of heritage site

1a. Urn field

The urn field is situated close to the Keltenweg, in the nature reserve ‘Maashorst’. Most inhabitants of the surrounding area know about its existence but this ends with the notion that there was an excavation a couple of years back and that they discovered some graves. Very few remember there was something before agriculture started. Almost all respondents make a notion about the burial mounds or the urn field, even though most if the time it was not asked in particular. It shows that some kind of local awareness of the presence of an archaeological site is growing within the local community (type 3). Most information is based on personal experience (type 1), only few notions were made on the transmission of information about the archaeological site from father to son (type 2). Few respondents are familiar with expert knowledge on the archaeological site (type 4).

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1a.2. Information

1a.3. Personal relation

Respondent 8: We went to the urn field with the Maashorst group. They placed a sign there. We knew there were some burial mounds in the east, but before the excavation we did not know about the existence of the urn field.

Respondent 9: The urn field was excavated about five years ago, before it used to be normal ground for agriculture. The graves were completely invisible. I never went there and I don’t know anything about it, but a little further these is a sign with information.

Respondent 11: Information about the urn field was distributed by visitors center the Maashorst. We know about it through the regional newspaper and the local paper: Maashorstboeren. We visited once more on a recreational walk, then we saw the sign that mentioned the graves. It is a strange idea.

Respondent 13: We never knew about the archeology, nothing was visible there. We learned about it only a couple of years ago, when they excavated the place. At that time, trucks filled with sand drove from and to the excavation.

Respondent 15: About two years ago, they excavated the burial mounds. They gave me a tour over the site. In the past, nothing was visible on the site. As a child I did not come there, I did not know anything and it did not interest me.

Respondent 16: There was an excavation nearby about 4-5 years ago. We noticed it because trucks were passing our house all the time.

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30 1b. Burial mounds

Respondent 8: In the past, it used to be a field for agriculture. We owned land close to the urn field, called ‘de twaalf morgens’ (the twelve mornings), so we came there often. A ‘morgen’ is a unit of measurement, referring to the amount of land that can be ploughed in one morning. It used to be sowing soil, but now they planted trees there. I never visit it anymore, except for one time with an IVN-guide

Respondent 12: We used to have land near the Loosbroekseweg and the Keltenweg, at the place where they found the cemetery. We only heard after the excavation that it was a cemetery, we never knew anything about it during the time we ploughed the land. They found many objects, as bracelets and arrowheads. The burial mounds were so far under the surface that we never saw them. When they were excavating, we often went over there to look. The burial mounds were clearly visible because the soil had a different color.

Respondent 14: I remember there was an excavation nearby, a Roman excavation. Close to Menzel and Bus. I don’t know much about it, they found some Roman huts with poles. I am not really interested in the archaeology and I don’t need to know anything about it.

Respondent 15: We have a district in Nistelrode that is called ‘Urnenveld’ (urn field). I have a vase from that field, our father found it a long time ago when he was digging there out of interest. My husband grew up in the district Urnenveld. Respondent 16: I heard it before, that something was buried there, but my wife never heard about it.

Respondent 17: The archaeologists asked if they could make exploratory trenches on our field, to see if there was anything to find. We agreed, even though it was precisely the topsoil they had to remove. While ploughing I never found anything, it’s not something you pay attention to. I do not own the land for a very long time, we received it with the land consolidation. In the past, there were hills. I never saw them, but I know because my father told me about it.

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Not far from the urn field, at the Zeelandseweg, some other burial mounds were found and researched, at the same time of the excavation at the urn field. Not many respondents were aware of this other archaeological site. Most likely this information is from own experience (type 1) and expert knowledge (type 4), because it is unlikely the respondent identified the hills as burial mounds without any expert indication.

2. Historical value

2a. Moraines

During the glacial period, the ice formed a moraine. The ice age left its marks in the landscape, varying from large stones to moraines. Information about the glacial period is based on expert knowledge (type 4). However, Respondent 12 connects this with own experience of finding large stones while plowing the fields (type 1).

2b. Roman village

With the construction of the highway (A50), an archaeological site from the Roman period came to the surface. Information about the excavation of the Roman villa, just beneath the highway, is based on personal experience (type 1) because the respondent saw the excavation happening in front of his house. Moreover it is based on expert knowledge (type 4). He talks

Respondent 12: Apparently, the Maas ran through this area during the ice age. We find many large stones in the fields, at some places more than in others. These stones come to the surface when we plough the field. We put some of them in front of our house.

Respondent 9: The moraine has always been here, it came into existence during the glacial period when the ice pushed up the sand. Maybe this also caused the sand dunes.

Respondent 13: There are more burial mounds nearby, just a little north. You can really see the hills in the landscape at this other place.

Respondent 15: I remember a little part of a forest near the Zeelandseweg which I had to cross as a child to get my orders at the Palmenweg for the grocery store. It was a scary part for me, a memory of the past I will not forget. At the Zeelandseweg is also an urn field, there used to be small hills.

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about specific finds as belt buckles, so he is familiar with the expert knowledge and terminology.

2c. (Celtic) graveyard

Some respondents from Bus mention the presence of a church with a graveyard and the presence of Celts near the urn field. This information is probably based on stories from family members (type 2) and difficult to interpret, because even though there is no mention of a church or a Celtic graveyard in the literature, the road leading to the urn field is called ‘Celtic road’. Interesting is that this story only comes back in the village Bus.

6.3.2 First and Second World War

1. Provision of services

1a. Camp for Belgian refugees in Uden

A couple of kilometers from the Maashorst, near Uden, there was a camp for Belgian refugees during First World War. This information is based on stories told by someone else (type 2), and it is difficult to identify the source of information as used by this friend. However, eventually it is likely to be based on expert knowledge (type 4).

Respondent 9: If you want to hear about something really old, a couple of kilometers from here there was a living quarter for Belgians, housing more than 1600 refugees. There were more Belgians than people living in Uden. A friend who lives near Uden told me about it.

Respondent 11: In the past there used to be a church with a graveyard near the urn field.

Respondent 13: Our father knew some things about the Celts that are buried here near Bus. They are buried at the Celtic graveyard. He knew this because his father, my grandfather, told him about it.

Respondent 8: At the place of the current highway, they found many objects that are part of a Roman village. We knew there was something, but nobody told us anything. We used to walk to the excavation to see what they were doing. We saw they found bowls, cups and belt buckles. These were presented in the village and later brought to ‘s Hertogenbosch.

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33 1b. Kamp werkverschaffing Nistelrode

Close to Menzel there used to be a camp for the provision of work, before the Second World War. Laborers helped with turfing heath at Slabroek. Later, it was used for the military and the Moluccans. The information represented by this respondent is based on expert knowledge (type 4). The respondent is a member of the Heemkundekring, a group of people interested in the local history and surroundings.

2. Logistics/transport

2a. Airport

Close to Nistelrode and Menzel, there used to be an airport during the Second World War. Information is based on expert knowledge (type 4). However, the answer of respondent 16 is also partly the personal experience of seeing the remains that are now covered with vegetation (type 1).

3a. Fake airport

Close to the airport Volkel, a fake airport was built to mislead the enemy who might want to bomb the airport. Information is based on expert knowledge (type 4).

Respondent 18: There used to be a fake airport with wooden planes, to mislead the German military from Volkel airport during Second World War.

Respondent 9: There was an airport here. Somewhere after Second World War it was removed again.

Respondent 16: Another archaeological site I remember is the old airport, close to the highway A50. It is completely covered with vegetation now, but you can still see it was there.

Respondent 18: Before the war, there was a camp in Nistelrode, for the provision of work. It was situated at the place of the current golf course. During war it was a place for the military, then the police used it, and afterwards it was used to provide housing for the Moluccans in 1951-1952. It was torn down immediately after the Moluccans left.

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34 3b. Bomb craters

Several deep pits are visible in the landscape. Even though many are made on purpose, for example by the removal of soil for building purposes or to make a pool for the cattle to drink from, some pits are bomb craters from the Second World War. Knowledge of Respondent 9 of the bomb craters is possibly based on expert knowledge (type 4). However, it is also the result of a lifelong farming and resulting knowledge of the landscape (type 1 & 2).

6.3.3 Before the reparcelling of land

1. Economic value

1a. Fragmented arable lands and pasture lands

In the past, farming had a very different nature than nowadays. Pieces of land were shattered all over the surrounding area and all had a different function, because the farmers had arable lands as well as pasture lands. This leads to much knowledge about the landscape, the different kinds of soil, water supply and vegetation which is essential for farmers, and this information is passed on from one generation to the other (type 2). The respondents knew their previous lands well because their parents taught them anything they needed to know regarding these pieces of land. Still, the interview fragments come from their own experience with the land as a child.

Respondent 9: Few bomb craters are visible next to the ‘slingerpad’, these originate from Second World War, at a time when many bombs were thrown in this area. The bomb craters are visible as deep pits in the landscape. However, not all pits are bomb craters, some are the result of a sand quarry.

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35 1b. Naming of the land

The land before reparcelling had many different names: farmers named their land based on its characteristics, and since every farmer had several parcels shattered over the area, there were many different names that are not in use anymore but still say something about the situation of the landscape before reparcelling. Moreover, names that are still in use for streets, paths or ditches also have an origin that might be known by local inhabitants of the area. Most of the information about naming the land originates from personal experience (type 1) and

interaction with family members and other local inhabitants referring to pieces of land (type 2). Especially interesting is the notion of Respondent 14 that everyone knows these names

Respondent 8: We had a mixed farm, with cows, chickens, pigs, strawberries and asparagus. As children we had to help our parents. We had many different parts of farming ground inside and outside of the village. We also had a little parcel behind our house, but not as much as we have now. Back then we still had a small path behind the house, which is now gone. Our pasture lands were situated at the wet parts of the land, the ‘wijstgronden’. These were formed due a fault line (nb. the geological fault line ‘peelrandbreuk’. We also had arable land at the heath fields, but in order to use them we had to turf the heath. All the children had to help. We cultivated wheat at these fields.

Respondent 13: I am a pig farmer, like my father. We have pigs, my father also had some cows. We also owned land for agriculture. We had several pieces of land in the surrounding area, mostly for agriculture, and some pasture lands for the cows. Pigs never left the house. My father still tells us about that one time on a hot summer evening, it was raining heavily and the cows were standing outside in the field. There was a heavy thunderstorm, and at that evening, four of his five cows were struck by lightning and died. It was a financial disaster at that time, to lose so many cows.

Respondent 15: Our mother had a small shop, and my father a construction company with a couple of servants. My brothers were also construction workers. In the neighborhood, there were many farmers with stock: pigs, and cows. We also used to have a small piece of ground on which we cultivated potatoes, near the ‘Udense weg’. As a child we had to help collect and bind the rye.

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except people that are not originally from here, he calls them ‘import’. This would mean the naming of land is also common knowledge (type 3). Moreover, there is some expert

knowledge mentioned that relates to these names, as the explanation by Respondent 8 of a ‘morgen’ as a unit of measurement (type 4).

1c. Brobbelbies

The Brobbelbies is a very specific piece of land close to the Urn field. It is part of the ‘wijstgronden’ and is called ‘Brobbelbies’ because of the water that comes bubbling

(‘brobbelen’) on the surface. Information on the Brobbelbies is from own experience (type 1) Respondent 8: The piece of land we owned close to the urn field is called ‘the

twelve morgens’. A ‘morgen’ is a unit of measurement, referring to the amount of land that can be ploughed in one morning.

Respondent 12: My neighbor told me Nistelrode came into existence at the ‘Keltenweg’ and that there used to live Celts. All places in the area have names that derive from certain characteristics. For example the name ‘Bus’ comes from ‘Bos’ (forest), because there used to be a forest here. We have many different names for the pieces of land that we use for farming, which are all based on the surrounding area and their specific location. For example, there is a field called ‘Kerkhof’, ‘Brobbelbies’, ‘In de heide’, ‘In de palmen’, and more.

Respondent 13: The piece of grassland at the opposite side of the urn field is called ‘Kerkhof’, it is situated close to the Keltenweg near Bus. There are many pieces of land that have an alternative naming like this one, as ‘voor de hei’, ‘achter de hei’, ‘het ven’ and ‘de vullings’. We used these names to refer to the pieces of land before reparcelling.

Respondent 14: We always took the ‘Maashorstweg’, which we called ‘het Kemke’. Just like this, there are many streets and roads everyone knows and uses, but that are not on the map. Only people that are originally not from here are not familiar with these names. This ditch is called ‘Kraaienloop’, the next one is called ‘Hoef’, then there is ‘het Dreeje Bos’, ‘de Nieuwe Erven’, ‘Kraaienweg’, ‘Koudenoord’ and ‘de Zwarte Molenweg’, which used to start before the highway.

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and from family knowledge (type 2). Information on the geographical fault line is probably based on expert knowledge (type 4).

1d. Cherry trees

In the past there used to be many tall cherry trees in the neighborhood, because the soil near the ‘wijstgronden’ is very suitable for cherry trees. Now, few people still have them or mention the cherry trees that used to grow here. The information is from personal experience (type 1) but also from a common knowledge (type 3), because everyone living here knows about the cherry trees. However, most of them did not see it as important enough to mention during the interviews.

2. Spiritual value

2a. Maria chapel

Few spiritual or religious places were mentioned in the area: most respondents just referred to the surrounding nature as a place for reflection. However, not far from the urn field there is a Maria chapel next to the road that was mentioned as an appointed spiritual place. The Maria chapel is an example of information about a religious place and a spiritual ritual passed on from one generation to another (type 2). Respondent 15 was brought there by her parents and now she shows the place to her grandchildren.

Respondent 15: My neighbor cultivates low stemmed cherry trees. Less than four years ago, there used to be tall cherry trees just behind our house, with many kinds of cherries, gooseberries and white currants. P. van L. used to live next-door, he had a large cherry orchard.

Respondent 8: The ‘Brobbelbies’ is called ‘Brobbelbies’ because it is a very wet piece of land. During winter we even went ice-skating here. When we were young, we (man and woman) had to cross the Brobbelbies to see each other: my wife lived at the other side, in Zeeland. At our house in Menzel, we also had a lot of bubbling (‘brobbelend’) water, which made it very difficult for us to build here. The water just did not want to disappear. Our house is built directly on the geographical fault line, when there is a small earthquake we feel the vibrations, like there is a truck passing.

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3a. Zeelandseweg

The Zeelandseweg goes past the Brobbelbies and lies parallel to the Keltenweg. Next to the Zeelandsweg, some burial mounds can be found, which were researched in 2010 at the same time of the excavation at the urn field near the Keltenweg. Even though information is based on expert knowledge with the indication of an urn field (type 4), it is directly connected to personal experiences of cycling there as a child (type 1).

4. Biological diversity value

4a. Wijstgronden

‘Wijstgronden’ are a result of the geographical fault line that goes directly through the area of the Maashorst. It leads to some very special and specific parts of the landscape, with water coming to the surface and special vegetation that only grows on these parts of the land. The working of wijstgronden is based on expert knowledge (type 4). However, the use of it, and the regulation of water, is probably knowledge that is taught and learned within the family (type 2).

Respondent 15: I remember a little part of a forest near the Zeelandseweg which I had to cross as a child to get my orders at the Palmenweg for the grocery store. It was a scary part for me, a memory of the past I will not forget. At the Zeelandseweg is also an urn field, there used to be small hills.

Respondent 15: At the end of the Weversweg is a Maria chapel. In the past, there used to be ‘Saint Cornelis’, a children’s saint, in Zeeland. We went there by bike and received some candy. Then we passed the Maria chapel and made a little cross. We still go there sometimes, for example last week, and last year with my grandchild. Still, I sometimes say to myself: stop and make a cross, instead of just passing by.

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5a. Paths

Before reparcelling, the farms were all connected through small paths in between the arable lands. The disappearance of these paths made life very different, because people that used to be neighbors are now living at the other side of the parcel. There are paths with gravel, paths with sand and inside paths. Some of the paths with gravel and sand were also used to move the cows. This information is all based on personal experience (type 1).

Respondent 9: The ‘wijstgronden’ are wet parts of the land on which water comes to the surface. Following, because of the little stones, it couldn’t go back into the ground anymore. These parts of the ground were not suitable for agriculture, so we grew grass on them for the cattle. In the past, we went ice-skating on the ‘wijstgronden’. There was so much water, which froze in the winter, so we could ice-skate on it. Now they dug trenches next to the arable land, so the water flows away and farmers can use the land again. The water from the ‘wijstgronden’ is full of metals and has a red color.

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40 6.3.4 After the reparcelling of land

1. Economical value

1a. Large, connected parcels

After the reparcelling of land, the farmers had large parcels of land just behind their house instead of the many small pieces of land scattered through the surrounding area. This information all comes from personal experience (type 1) or from stories as told by older family members (type 2).

Respondent 8: We used to have pigs and cows. Because we had many small parcels of land, scattered over a large area, the cows had to be moved from one parcel to the other. We brought them from the Brandsestraat to the Nieuwlandse steeg to our house through paths of sand, over a path crossing the current highway (which was not there at the time). Some of the sand paths and inside paths are not in use anymore because they built a highway through them. The paths that we used are still there though.

Respondent 13: The biggest change after the reparcelling is the disappearance of small paths. It had a large impact on the neighborhood feeling: people that used to live next to you are suddenly not your neighbors anymore, because you have to walk a long way to visit them. In the past, you could just go and watch TV at your neighbor’s house by using the small inside path. Now it is much more difficult, you have to go all the way around.

Respondent 15: As a kid, I used to know all the inside paths to visit the houses and take their orders. Still, people from the neighborhood recognize me and say: Hey, aren’t you the one from the grocery store?

Respondent 16: There used to be a small path just behind our house. With the reparcelling and the construction of a highway, this path disappeared.

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2a. Snelweg A50 / geluidswal

The construction of the highway (A50) had a large impact on many of the inhabitants of Menzel, because it cut them off from Nistelrode. This information is all based on personal experience (type 1).

6.3.5 Now: farmland versus nature reserve

At the Slabroekse Heide, farmers are living very close to an exapnding nature reserve. Even though many of them can appreciate the beautiful nature and the biological diversity of the landscape in which it results, it brings nothing but backwardness for their farms and their economic development. The expansion of the nature reserve, in which the nature is brought back to a state in which the flora and fauna can flourish and also the cultural biography will be presented as an important aspect of the landscape, leads to restrictions on the expansion of farms and thus the obstruction of running a healthy farm that can compete with other, larger, farmers.

Respondent 11: Before the construction of the highway, it was different. There was a main road between Menzel and Nistelrode just before our house, now we have to make a detour to get there. We have the feeling they cut us off from the village. The worst part is that they put these large concrete slabs in front of our house, we lost our beautiful view. It is like they locked us up and put us away. Respondent 8: With the reparcelling in 1977 our small parcels of land were brought together. We received a parcel just behind the house, especially for the cows, and a larger parcel nearby. Herewith, the quality of the soil was taken into account. Now, we own 16 hectare, but we also bought some new land after the reparcelling.

Respondent 12: We used to have land at the Palmenweg, where we used to cultivate sugar beet, corn, carrots, asparagus and trees. This land was bought by Rijkswaterstaat. We cultivated it from the very beginning, because the father of my husband was also a farmer. With the reparcelling in 1977 many small parcels were connected with each other, to become one large parcel.

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The inclusion of local knowledge in the study of a landscape results in contested ideas about what is seen and valued as heritage. By making it difficult for the farmers to make their business economically healthy in a way that they are comfortable with, a gap is formed between the (expert) wish to create a nature reserve with a focus on (natural and cultural) heritage preservation, and the (local) wish to continue with their normal life and adjust to current, modern advancements.

1. Land that is in use by a farmer

There are still several farmers in the area with arable land or lifestock. Their ways of working is however influenced by the activities relating to the creation of a nature reserve as aimed for in the Maashorst Manifest. Plants are demolished by European badgers, a protected animal that is quickly growing in numbers in the Maashorst. Moreover, they have to take into account strict regulations regarding the quality of air, which is influenced by their lifestock. Also, there is limited possibility to expand the business, because there is no land available in the area. This information derives from expert knowledge about the environmental requirements (type 4). Moreover it is based on personal experiences with these requirements (type 1).

2. Land that is managed by staatsbosbeheer

Many land that used to belong to farmers is now owned and managed by staatsbosbeheer. These pieces of land often get a different destination and are re-planted or left to nature. Information about the regulations is based on expert knowledge (type 4). However, there is

Respondent 9: The fields with corn are continually demolished by European badgers, pushing and breaking the corn and eating the crops. We can’t do anything about it, because it is a protected animal. Their numbers become increasingly higher, because this has become a nature reserve. It makes the land worthless; no one will buy this anymore.

Respondent 13: As a farmer in the Maashorst area, you have a difficult job. There is no land available to expand, and as a pig farmer you have to use expensive air purifiers. We do not make any profit from our farm anymore.

Respondent 14: Many farming businesses are going down because there are a lot of environmental requirements that are very expensive. We cannot meet these requirements.

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also many information based on personal experiences with staatsbosbeheer and the surrounding landscape.

Local knowledge and historic landscapes. The case studies of Camp Vught and the urn field of Slabroek.

Appendices

Table of contents