Westerbork () is a village in the municipality of

Midden-Drenthe Midden-Drenthe () is a municipality in the northeastern Netherlands. The municipality was created in 1998, in a merger of the former municipalities of Beilen, Smilde, and Westerbork. Between 1998 and 2000, the name of the municipality was Middenve ...

in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. It is located in the middle of the eastern province of Drenthe. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, the

Westerbork transit camp Camp Westerbork ( nl, Kamp Westerbork, german: Durchgangslager Westerbork, Drents: ''Börker Kamp; Kamp Westerbörk'' ), also known as Westerbork transit camp, was a Nazi transit camp in the province of Drenthe in the Northeastern Netherlands, d ...

was located near the village. The

Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope The Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT) is an aperture synthesis interferometer built on the site of the former World War II Nazi detention and transit camp Westerbork, north of the village of Westerbork, Midden-Drenthe, in the northea ...

and the Camp Westerbork Museum are now situated at the site.

History

The village was first mentioned in 1206 as Burch. It is unclear whether it is "western castle" or "western forest (of birch trees)". Westerbork is an ''

esdorp __NOTOC__ An ''Angerdorf'' (plural: ''Angerdörfer'') is a type of village that is characterised by the houses and farmsteads being laid out around a central grassed area, the ''anger'' (from the Old High German ''angar'' =pasture or grassy place ...

'' from the Early Middle Ages which developed on higher ground. The 12th century chapel was elevated to church in 1240, and it became an independent parish. Westerbork contained four ''essen'' (communal pastures). The tower of the Dutch Reformed church dates from the 13th century and contains a bell from the 13th or 14th century. The gothic nave and choir are probably from the 15th century. The spire probably dates from 1884. Westerbork was home to 396 people in 1840. In 1939, the refugee camp Westerbork was established outside of the village to accommodate German refugees who had fled

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. A year later, Nazi Germany had occupied the Netherlands following the Battle of the Netherlands. In 1942, the refugee camp was turned into a transit camp and more than 100,000 Jews, Roma, and

Sinti The Sinti (also ''Sinta'' or ''Sinte''; masc. sing. ''Sinto''; fem. sing. ''Sintesa'') are a subgroup of Romani people mostly found in Germany and Central Europe that number around 200,000 people. They were traditionally itinerant, but today o ...

were deported via Westerbork to concentration and extermination camps in Nazi Germany and occupied Poland. Between 1945 and 1948, after the war had ended, the camp was used as

internment camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...

for collaborators. In 1969, the

was installed near the site of the former camp. The radio telescope consists of an array of 14 antennas with a diameter of 25 metres each and is operated by

ASTRON Astron may refer to: * Mitsubishi Astron engine * ASTRON, the Dutch foundation for astronomy research, operating the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope and LOFAR * Astron (comics), a fictional character, a member of the Marvel Comics group The ...

. In 1983, the Camp Westerbork Museum was opened at the former camp site. It focuses on the occupation of the Netherlands during World War II, the persecution of the Jews, and the history of the camp. Westerbork was a separate municipality until 1998, when it became part of Middenveld, which was renamed

in 2000.

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Midden-Drenthe Populated places in Drenthe Former municipalities of Drenthe Municipalities of the Netherlands disestablished in 1998 Holocaust locations in the Netherlands