Dordrecht during world war two

A collection of historical items from World War II in Dordrecht.

Documents police officer Dordrecht.

Below you will find an interesting document set of Dutch police officer Petrus Hendrikus Philipsen, who worked in Dordrecht. Although the officer was originally born in Nijmegen, he eventually chose to work and live in Dordrecht. However, before that, he served as a military member, both as a conscript and a volunteer: P.H. Philipsen was enlisted on February 16, 1931, in the Corps Pontonniers & Torpedisten ( Army Maritime Engineers Corps ) as an ordinary conscript (GD). He was promoted to corporal on July 31, 1931. After several periods of extended leave in 1931 and 1935, he voluntarily joined the Corps Politietroepen (Police Troops) within the army on December 6, 1935. There, he once again became a corporal on March 28, 1936. 

It is unclear in which of the two units Philipsen served at the outbreak of World War II. However, his service record does mention the following: "Due to the termination of his position, honorably discharged from voluntary military service with the granting of a pension, not at his request, as GD Corporal of the 1931 intake of the Corps Pontonniers en Torpedisten, on extended leave starting from July 15, 1940."

It appears that Philipsen was indeed a professional soldier in the Corps Politietroepen in May 1940. After his honorable discharge from military service, Philipsen applied for a position with the municipal police in Dordrecht, where he was appointed as an officer and later promoted to Sergeant on February 19, 1944. On September 5, 1944, he then became a member of the combat unit (S.G.) of the 1st company of the Dutch domestic forces in Dordrecht (District 14 South Holland-Zuid) and played an active role as an underground ( resistance )member. After the liberation, he became employed by the Military Police in September 1945.


The first photo series is that of the First Aid booklet. Petrus Hendrikus Philipsen passed his First Aid course in 1938. During that time, he was a volunteer with the Corps Politietroepen. This suggests that he likely experienced the beginning of the war as a military member. According to the booklet, the course was organized by the military medical service.

Below is the identity card of P.H. Philipsen visible. It is clear that he originally came from Nijmegen and eventually moved to Dordrecht, residing at different addresses. An interesting detail is the notation of the scar on the left pinky finger. This identity card shows that he was a police officer in 1944, specifically a Sergeant in the municipal police. However, there is also a crossed-out mention that he was previously a police agent. Lastly, the ration card of his wife was also included in the lot, which is the second type of ration card.


Below, three very interesting photos can be seen. They are photos of the liberation. Based on the photos, it appears that a liberation parade took place, starting on the Brouwersdijk, continuing on to the Bosboom-Toussaintstraat, and presumably ending with the last photo on the Krispijnse weg. However, the exact location of the last photo is not entirely certain. The photos capture many interesting things. There are several members of the Dutch Resistance armed with English Sten guns. There is also a woman with a shaved head who undoubtedly had a romantic relationship with a German during the war. Dutch flags are hanging from the houses, the tricolor that finally waved freely again after five years. In any case, a cheerful atmosphere is visible among the people. Additionally, the police officer is also in the photo. He is the middle man in the second photo.


Finally, you see here a document regarding the exemption from the requisition of the bicycle. Although this document is not in the name of the specific officer, it does belong to the document bundle. What is perhaps even more interesting is that the document is personally signed by the mayor of Dordrecht, Mr. Bleeker. The document contains both Dutch and German text. It served as evidence for the occupier that the owner's bicycle should not be requisitioned.


©2017-2025 :Https://www.Dordrechtindeoorlog.nl: ( There is a copyright on the content of this website. This content is not to be shared, duplicated or published withouth the explicit permission of the author of this website. If you have any requests you can email to: Info@Dordrechtindeoorlog.nl or look on : www.dordrechtindeoorlog.nl/termsofuseforthecontentonthiswebsite.


E-mailen
Map
Info