Strike

The April-May strikes of 1943 were a series of large-scale strikes that took place in the Netherlands during the Nazi occupation. These strikes were an expression of resistance against forced labor in Germany and the poor treatment of Dutch workers by the German occupiers.

On April 29, 1943, the strikes began in Amsterdam, in response to a call from the Dutch government in exile for a general strike against the German occupation authorities. The call to strike quickly spread across the country, particularly in major cities and industrial centers such as Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht, and Eindhoven.

The strikers demanded better working conditions, higher wages, and an end to forced labor in Germany. The April-May strikes were one of the largest protest actions during the occupation and brought much of public life in the Netherlands to a halt.

The German occupiers responded with harsh repression, leading to mass arrests of strikers and their leaders. Hundreds of people were executed in retaliation for their participation in the strikes.

Although the April-May strikes did not achieve the desired political outcome, they remain an important symbol of Dutch resistance against the Nazi occupation and a reminder of the courage and determination of those who dared to stand up against injustice and oppression.

The Werts family lived at Maastrichterweg 41 in Valkenswaard. Gerardus worked for the company Mignot and De Block in Eindhoven. As usual, on the morning of May 3, 1943, Gerardus set off on his bicycle to work. That day, a nationwide strike took place as a protest against the German occupiers, who had recently decreed that all Dutch soldiers were to return to captivity.

Strikes also occurred in Eindhoven. The Germans responded with harsh measures, closing off both sides of Emmasingel and forcing everyone in the area into a police van. Gerardus, who was standing in front of his employer’s building, was taken away. At the Philips headquarters, a German military court was in session. Seven randomly chosen detainees were brought before the court as an example to others. Gerardus was one of the chosen. The trial was a sham, as the outcome was predetermined. The strikers were sentenced to death and executed on the grounds outside Philips. As a deterrent to other strikers, the bodies were left there for a time. A memorial now stands at the site of the execution.

Gerardus’ wife, who was pregnant with their third child at the time, received no official notification from the Germans about what had happened. When her husband did not return home from work, she made great efforts to find out what had occurred. It was through someone who had read about it in the newspaper that she learned her husband had been shot.