Overview
Markt 12 in Aalten is a historic building with roots extending back to the seventeenth century. The house has an unusual wartime history: during the Second World War it sheltered people in hiding while, at the same time, part of the building was being used by the German occupying forces. Today Markt 12 forms part of the Nationaal Onderduikmuseum.
Two village farmhouses probably already stood on the site of the present-day addresses Markt 12–18 in the seventeenth century. They were timber-framed buildings with a strongly agricultural character. The houses were separated by a narrow passage known as an osendrop. A wider alley on the left led to a rear yard where a timber-framed barn stood.
Behind the buildings, two long undeveloped plots extended towards Prinsenstraat, probably used as gardens or agricultural land. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the original timber-framed houses on the Markt were replaced by brick houses. The present Markt 12 dates from a rebuilding around 1843. The building is a listed national monument.
Second World War
During the Second World War the house was occupied by the Kempink family, a family with two young children. At the beginning of the war, the front room was used by the Red Cross. Later, the Nazis requisitioned this room and turned it into an Ortskommandantur. At the same time, eight people in hiding were concealed in the attic. The hiding place still survives.
The vaulted cellar beneath the house was used as an air-raid shelter for local residents whenever the alarm sounded. At times, as many as twenty people sought protection there from bombing raids.
Towards the end of the war, the Kempink family had to leave the house at very short notice on German orders. Many homes in the badly affected Sauerland had been destroyed, and German mothers and children were billeted elsewhere, including at Markt 12 in Aalten. After the war, the family returned and continued to live in the house for many years.
Museum
After 1970 the complex underwent several important changes. It was restored in stages and incorporated into museum ’t Frerikshuus, the predecessor of today’s Nationaal Onderduikmuseum.
In 2004 a new museum building was constructed behind Markt 12, while the grounds to the rear were laid out as a car park. The new building and the three historic properties at Markt 12–16 were linked by a glass canopy containing the main entrance and entrance hall.
In 2024 the Nationaal Onderduikmuseum announced plans for a further expansion. For this purpose, the neighbouring property at Markt 18 was purchased.
Residents
Population Register 1823–1838
Wolter Hunink (Aalten, 13 December 1779), farmer
Johanna Willemina Vreede (Aalten, 11 June 1799)
Population Register 1838–1850
Wolter Hunink (Aalten, 13 December 1779), farmer
Johanna Willemina Vreede (Aalten, 11 June 1799)
Next residents:
Johannes Gerhardus Becking (Aalten, 20 February 1807), shopkeeper
married in Aalten on 1 September 1843 to
Catharina Maria ten Bokkel (Aalten, 16 October 1812)
Population Register 1850–1860
Johannes Gerhardus Becking (Aalten, 20 February 1807), shopkeeper
Catharina Maria ten Bokkel (Aalten, 16 October 1812)
Population Register 1860–1870
Johannes Gerhardus Becking (Aalten, 20 February 1807), shopkeeper and innkeeper
Catharina Maria ten Bokkel (Aalten, 16 October 1812)
Population Register 1870–1880
Johannes Gerhardus Becking (Aalten, 20 February 1807), shopkeeper
Catharina Maria ten Bokkel (Aalten, 16 October 1812)
Population Register 1880–1890
Johannes Gerhardus Becking (Aalten, 20 February 1807), shopkeeper
Catharina Maria ten Bokkel (Aalten, 16 October 1812)
Next residents, son and daughter-in-law:
Johannes Catharinus Becking (Aalten, 17 July 1848), shopkeeper
married in Aalten on 19 May 1881 to
Anna Wilhelmina Theodora Becking (Varsseveld, 8 September 1855)
Population Register 1890–1900
Johannes Catharinus Becking (Aalten, 17 July 1848), shopkeeper
Anna Wilhelmina Theodora Becking (Varsseveld, 8 September 1855)
Population Register 1900–1910
Johannes Catharinus Becking (Aalten, 17 July 1848), shopkeeper
Anna Wilhelmina Theodora Becking (Varsseveld, 8 September 1855)
Population Register 1910–1920
Johannes Catharinus Becking (Aalten, 17 July 1848), shopkeeper
Anna Wilhelmina Theodora Becking (Varsseveld, 8 September 1855)
Next head of household:
Hendrica Wilhelmina Vultink (Silvolde, 6 September 1861), widow of Bernard Bölte
Address Directory 1934
Aalten C553 > Markt 12
Widow B. Bölte
Address Directory 1967
Markt 12
G.C. Kempink
Mrs G.C. Keizer-Winterink
J.B. Vaags
Owners
This overview is incomplete.
| Year | Plot | Owner | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1832 | I-1080 | Wolter Huinink | 430 m² house, barn & yard |
| 1881 | I-1694 | Johan Gerhard Becking, shopkeeper | 290 m² house & yard |
Images
