In a shocking display of vengeance, ten Dutch collaborators were executed by members of the resistance mere hours after the liberation of the village of Al Bakoup on April 12, 1945. As Canadian soldiers from the Royal Canadian Dragoons established their headquarters, a crowd of enraged locals descended upon the captured traitors, unleashing their fury on those who had aided the Nazi occupiers during the dark years of World War II.

Witnesses described a scene of chaos as the crowd booed, spat, and physically assaulted the men, who had previously served in the infamous Vofan SS. One individual received such a brutal blow that it reportedly caused his head to spin. The atmosphere was charged with pent-up anger, as these collaborators represented the deepest betrayal to their fellow Dutch citizens. Despite the presence of Canadian forces, it was the resistance members who took control of the situation, leading the men away from the village.

What followed was a grim execution, premeditated and brutal. Two former resistance fighters later revealed that they had participated in the shootings, casting doubt on earlier beliefs that the Canadians may have been complicit. The ten men were taken to a site just outside the village, where they were shot and buried in shallow graves, a stark testament to the local population’s desire for swift retribution.

This harrowing event underscores the raw emotions and desperate need for justice felt by a nation that had endured years of occupation. The executions, now viewed as a calculated act of vengeance rather than a spontaneous outburst, reflect the intense climate of anger that permeated liberated areas of the Netherlands. As the bodies were later exhumed and reinterred in a German war cemetery, the legacy of this brutal act continues to resonate as a chilling reminder of the costs of collaboration and the depths of human rage in the face of oppression. The aftermath of this dark chapter in Dutch history serves as a stark reminder of the complex moral landscape in times of war.