Jannetje, the funeral and the grave

The Elburger Courant of 15 May 1945 reported that Jannetje had been informed that Gerrit’s body had been found in a mass grave in the Beekbergen area. The Hague identification card records exhumation from Heidehof, but does not supply a precise recovery date or method of identification. Historian Willem van Norel later wrote that resistance worker Gerrit Kanis identified Gerrit’s body in 1945; this valuable statement still requires comparison with original identification records. [42,53; Van Norel correspondence] Gerrit was reburied at Oosterwolde on 15 May 1945, as recorded on later war-grave forms and in the contemporary funeral coverage printed on 18 May. The funeral report describes readings from Romans 8:28–39 and 2 Timothy 4:6–8, as well as remarks by clergy, civic representatives and resistance associates. These readings do not establish which passage Gerrit may have marked in his personal Bible. [44,46,52; 18 May 1945 clipping] War-grave correspondence continued long afterward. Forms identify an Oosterwolde grave as first class, number 8; other cemetery numbering in compiled records may represent a different numbering scheme and requires verification. A 1972 draft form proposed transfer to Loenen but was unsigned. It cannot prove a transfer occurred. Letters from 1972 and 1973 concern grave maintenance and contact with Jannetje. [47–52]