Putten raid

On 1 October 1944, a total of 602 men – almost the entire male population of the village – were taken from Putten, in the central Netherlands, and deported to various concentration camps inside Germany.

On the night of 30 September-1 October 1944, a car carrying two officers and two corporals of the German Army was ambushed by members of the Dutch resistance near the Oldenallerbrug bridge between Putten and Nijkerk.

One German officer, Lieutenant Otto Sommer, was also injured, and escaped to a nearby farmhouse to raise the alarm; he died the following day.

The women were held at the church until 9 pm, while the men and boys were detained separately nearby at the village school.

The monument includes a memorial park designed by Jan Bijhouwer, and a sandstone statue called "treurende weduwe" (mourning widow) by Mari Andriessen depicting a grieving woman in traditional dress with a handkerchief in her hand, better known as "het Vrouwtje van Putten" (The little Lady of Putten).