Gerrit Imbos, born on 21 July 1921 in Foxhol (province of Groningen), was one of eleven children in a working-class family. Known for his cheerful spirit and love of football, he played for the local club FVV and started working at the age of fourteen, first at the Mulder shipyard in Foxhol and later at Bodewes in Martenshoek. Like many young men of his time, Gerrit’s life was shaped by hard work and a strong sense of community — values that would later define his courage.
In the spring of 1943, frustration and defiance spread across the Netherlands when the German occupiers ordered that former Dutch soldiers be taken back into captivity. This led to a massive wave of strikes — known as the April–May strikes — in factories, shipyards, and farms throughout the country. In Hoogezand and Sappemeer, where Gerrit worked, many laborers joined the protest, refusing to continue work for the German war effort.
The response from the occupiers was swift and merciless. Martial law was declared, and the Sicherheitsdienst (SD) was authorized to carry out executions without trial. On 3 May 1943, the SD arrived in Foxhol to arrest strikers. At the Imbos family home, they mistakenly took Gerrit’s father, also named Gerrit, to the Scholtenshuis in Groningen for interrogation. Later that night, he was released when the Germans realized they had the wrong man — they were after his 21-year-old son. Gerrit was taken in his father’s place.
In the early morning of 4 May 1943, a truck from the SD returned to Hoogezand carrying five prisoners:
- Cornelis Luinstra (19)
- Paulinus Nieuwold (41)
- Riwold Terpstra (29)
- Willem van Rossum (19)
- Gerrit Imbos (21)
Without trial, the men were lined up against the wall of the Beukema strawboard factory and executed by firing squad. Their bodies were later taken to the moorlands of Appelbergen, near Glimmen, where they were left behind.
For decades, the story of these men remained a painful local memory. In 2004, a memorial stone — a large glacial boulder with bronze plaques — was placed in Appelbergen to honor them, now known as the Monument to the Victims of the May Strike of 1943.
Shortly after the liberation, on 8 May 1945, the municipal council of Hoogezand-Sappemeer renamed the Foxholsterhoofdweg as Gerrit Imbosstraat, in recognition of Gerrit’s sacrifice. The section of the street where his family lived was later renamed Woldweg in 1959.
Today, Gerrit Imbos is remembered as one of the young men who dared to stand up against oppression. His story represents not only the tragedy of wartime resistance but also the enduring spirit of courage and solidarity that lived on in his community.
