Walk in Freedom: Hike on the occasion of the liberation of Dinxperlo

On 29 March, the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Dinxperlo by the Allies, the Walk in Freedom organisation team offered walks of various distances along the former route of the "liberators". The day ended with a procession of all the walking groups through Dinxperlo and Suderwick, accompanied by music.

At the Freedom Festival in Dinxperlo in the Europastraat, participants were able to reflect on the day. The Dutch foundation DinXperience and the German citizens' initiative Dinxperwick e.V. organised the Walk in Freedom. Participants had the opportunity to walk the route of the "liberators" that was taken in 1945 on 29 March 2025 to liberate Dinxperlo. It was important to the organising team to celebrate "freedom as a precious good".

Before the start, each participant received a booklet with directions, a QR code for a music playlist, a QR code for the stories along the way and other information. Dutch author Theo Soontiëns wrote the stories especially for the Walk in Freedom.

Commemorative event

At the same time, the organisation team hosted a commemorative event in the tavern on the Hellweg in Suderwick. The deputy district administrator of the Kleve district, Paula Backhaus, the mayors of Bocholt and Aalten, Thomas Kerkhoff and Anton Stapelkamp, as well as Mayor Mechtild Schulze-Hessing from Borken, Mayor Jürgen Bernsmann from Rhede and Mayor Michael Carbanje from Isselburg attended.

Deputy Mayors Kerstin Erkens and Gudrun Koppers also celebrated freedom with two representatives of the Euregio Rhine-Waal, members of the International Committee between the city of Bocholt and the municipality of Aalten as well as representatives of associations. Volunteers from the Bocholt Volunteer Agency took care of the catering.

Programme

Lex Schellevis from the organiser, the DinXperience Foundation, welcomed those present and expressed his delight that the celebrations, which had been planned for 2020 but could not be held due to the coronavirus pandemic, could be held this year. He emphasised the importance of the Dutch side, in this case Dinxperlo, reaching out to celebrate freedom with its German neighbours. An English title was deliberately chosen as a neutral means of expression so as not to favour either nation.

One of the stories that the walkers were able to listen to during the tour was then read out as an example. On behalf of many citizens, the fictional character Maria Renzink reflects on life in the two border towns in the centuries before the Second World War, at the time of the war, the liberation and in the period afterwards. The story is called "Who are we?".

Greetings from the mayors of Aalten and Bocholt

Mayor Anton Stapelkamp looked back on the celebrations for 75 years of freedom, which could not be held as planned due to the coronavirus pandemic. He reminded the audience that reconciliation is important.

Wounds must heal; this includes coming to terms with the past, which is happening in both Dinxperlo and Suderwick. He drew a bridge between the quartering during the Second World War and the current immigration. He emphasised that people could enjoy freedom in the border region today, but that they also had to take responsibility for the future.

Mayor Thomas Kerkhoff discussed the event attended a week earlier in connection with the 4/5 mei committee, which was also about freedom. Freedom should not be taken for granted. He praised the invitation from the neighbouring Dutch municipality as a special feature of the good cooperation and called for freedom to be defended together at the border.

The good relations with the Netherlands were very important to the citizens of Bocholt, as was confirmed in the branding survey. Thomas Kerkhoff also described the tavern as a particularly suitable venue for such events.

Deputy District Administrator Paula Backhaus emphasised that it is important to name and shame in this day and age. She emphasised that the responsibility for coming to terms with the past lies on the German side and called on people to be vigilant in view of current developments.

Lighting the freedom fire

After the speeches, the guests were invited to the outside garden of the CAREAZ Dr Jenny retirement home, where a freedom fire was lit. At this fire, scouts lit torches with which they met the walkers. The fruit juices served in the three colours yellow, orange and red symbolised the freedom fire.

Shortly afterwards, the guests had the opportunity to greet the passing hikers carrying European flags. The walking group was led by a German and a Dutch police car and accompanied by bagpipers and bands.

The Walk in Freedom project was made possible by the Germany-Netherlands Interreg programme and its programme partners and co-financed by the European Union (EU). Numerous other sponsors supported the event.