May 1940 Grebbe Line history exhibited in local barn

WOUDENBERG - A private initiative to preserve some of the history surrounding the famed Grebbe Line has been realized in the barn of a retired area farmer. Fulco Ploeg with the extensive cooperation of the local historical society has dedicated part of his farmstead to the days in May 1940 when the Grebbe Line was the last line of defense against the German invaders. Outnumbered, ill-prepared and grossly under-equipped Dutch soldiers tenaciously held off the Germans for days. Since then, the area has changed gradually, then by leaps and bounds, until little evidence was left of the battleground. Recent efforts by a number of societies and individuals however resulted in the restoration of some of the Line’s May 1940 characteristics, including trenches, fortifications and other military installations.