Cornelis van Eerden (1913 - 1945)

Cornelis van Eerden was born in Zwijndrecht on March 26, 1913, the son of Henri van Eerden and Jannetje Johanna Bos. He worked as a factory worker. He married April 20, 1939 in Zoetermeer to Elizabeth Elsie Dontje. In 1939 they lived at Molenstraat 147 in Zoetermeer. He was a member of the Domestic Forces (BS), a resistance group that provided assistance to people in need during World War II. On May 5, 1945, the day of the German capitulation in the Netherlands, Cornelis was fatally shot during a firefight with German soldiers near the Public School at Dorpsstraat 114 in Zoetermeer. He and the other resistance fighters who died were later reburied in an honorary grave near the Oude Kerk.

May 5, 1945

On May 5, 1945, the Internal Armed Forces in Zoetermeer received word that the Germans had capitulated and that they could finally go into action. The group gathered at the Public School at Dorpsstraat 114, where weapons and orders were handed out. Across the street from the school (Dorpsstraat 99) were still German troops, including captured Russians working for the Germans. Around 1 p.m. there were rumors that the Germans were going to attack the school to disarm the BS. The BS commander gave orders to hide the weapons, but before this could be fully accomplished, 15 German soldiers stormed into the schoolyard. The BS members fled to the meadows behind the school, but were taken under fire. Cornelis van Eerden and Jan Hoorn were fatally hit. Other BS members were captured and released the next morning. After this the German troops left for Germany, this was against the rules of the Allies.

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Cornelis van Eerden