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03 Utrechtseweg
The ‘Woman in wartime’ monument is almost directly opposite the head office of the NUON[1] energy company in Utrechtseweg. It was made in 1949 and consists of a stylized stone statue sculpted by artist Nel Klaassen (1906-1989). On the plinth is the poem ‘The women in the war’ by poet and publisher Reinold Kuipers (1914-2005). The five metre tall artwork suggests an upright female figure with head held high in a gesture of indomitability in the face of the German occupiers.
The monument
- Map showing the 1944 situation around the 'Woman in wartime' statue (Copyright F. van Lunteren, from a map by Th. Boeree)
In the 1920s Klaassen was a pupil of the equally well-known artist Gijs Jacobs van den Hof, who produced various works of art in Arnhem (see also points 20 Airborneplein and 26 Kerkplein).[2] In 1948 she was commissioned to design the medal for the coronation of Queen Juliana on 6 September that year. After the service this decoration was presented to all guests, royal household staff and other persons who had been involved in preparations for the ceremony.[3]
In 1945 Reinold Kuipers from Groningen wrote the poem that appears on the monument. Because it became the inspiration for the monument the text was inscribed on the plinth. Kuipers wrote a number of poetry collections before, during and after the war, and from 1960 until his retirement in 1979 he was director of Uitgeverij Querido (a publishing house) in Amsterdam. He passed away on 12 September 2005 in Amstelveen.
At the end of the first Sonsbeek Exhibition in Sonsbeek Park in 1949 the monument was unveiled in Utrechtseweg on 30 December that year. With it the city council wished to keep the major role played by countless women in the resistance during the war fresh in the minds of the Arnhem inhabitants.[4] The memorial is a fitting tribute to the sacrifices made by many women in the 1940-1945 period.
Overview of the battle scene
On a fine day one can see the church steeple in Elst from the monument. But good weather or bad, the fork between ‘Bovenover’ (Utrechtseweg/Utrechtsestraat) and Onderlangs is clearly visible. On 19 September 1944 the 1st and 3rd Parachute Battalions of the 1st Parachute Brigade tried to reach the road bridge via Onderlangs while the 2nd South Staffords and the 11th Parachute Battalion carried out a similar attempt, simultaneously, via ‘Bovenover’. Sadly both attacks failed after heavy fighting.
Slightly further back towards the “Bovenover”/Onderlangs fork and level with the museum, a pillar alongside Utrechtseweg marks the extent of the British airborne troops advance that day.[5] There is a similar pillar at Boterdijk, dedicated to the1st and 3rd Parachute Battalions, marking the furthest point via Onderlangs.[6] It also indicates the furthest point reached by British units in the first days of the battle, namely the NUON building at the other side of the road.[7] These were the leading British elements; the main force advanced not much further than the museum.
Looking in the direction of the Rhine one sees the road [8] followed by John Frost and his men when they occupied the northern ramp of the Rhine Bridge in the early evening of Sunday 17 September 1944.
[1] This was previously the Provinciale Gelderse Electriciteits Maatschappij building, in short the PGEM building.
[2] http://www.jacobsvandenhof.com/frame_gesch.htm Consulted on 12 June 2007.
[3] Erik Müller, Inhuldigingsmedaille. http://www.onderscheidingen.nl/nl/medailles/konhuis/i1948.html Consulted on 15 June 2007.
[4] J. Diender, Mo(nu)menten van Stilte (1996). Guide to the overview exhibition of all monuments and memorials in the municipality of Arnhem. A digital version of this guide was made available to the author by Mr Diender.
[5] See point 6 of the Freedom Trail Arnhem.
[6] See point 12 of the Freedom Trail Arnhem.
[7] See point 5 of the Freedom Trail Arnhem.
[8] This road is Onderlangs.