The municipality of Leeuwarden wants to honour four resistance fighters from World War II by naming streets and landmarks in the city after them.
Translation by Traci White
Omrop Fryslân reports that the municipality wants to name streets in the Leeuwarden Vrijheidswijk (Freedom neighbourhood) after Gerben IJpma, Tiny Mulder and Harm and Annie Kingma.
The plans still have to be formally approved by the municipal executive council, but the city is planning to name a small park in the neighbourhood after Harm and Annie Kingma. The couple played a prominent role in coordinating resistance efforts in the city from their home on the Oldegalileën.
Tiny Mulder, a resistance fighter, journalist and author, will also have a park named in her honour. During the way, Mulder worked as a courier for the resistance and also helped pilots and people in hiding.
Grutte Klaas
Gerben IJpma is the only one of the four who is set to have a street named after him. IJpma, who was known during the war as “Grutte Klaas”, was a member of the resistance and was involved in water management in the catchment area of Súdwest Fryslân. IJpma already has a street named after him in the city of Koudum.
Other streets in the neighbourhood have names connected to the war. There is Resistance Street, Canadians Lane, Wierda Brothers street (in honour of Egbert, Hijltje and Klaas who were killed by firing squad for sabotage and spying), Krijn van der Helm Street (leader of the local armed resistance group), and Eppie Bultsma Street (helped to free imprisoned resistance members from the Blokhuispoort), among others.