Introduction Watersnoodmuseum
Communication
Listen to the news bulletins broadcast by the Dutch radio on the Sunday morning.Radio amateurs played an important role in the communication during those first few days.See the emergency transmitter in the display cabinet that was built in Zierikzee of spare parts and some unusual items. The initial contacts made with this transmitter, which reported on the Monday that Schouwen-Duiveland was also completely flooded, were received as far as in northern Italy.
Teun
This little suitcase tells a special story. During the night of the disaster it carried a special load: the 3-day-old baby Teun Biemond. Ferocious, roiling water had rushed into the home of the Biemond family and rose at a furious pace. With great haste, the family prepared to be evacuated. This little suitcase was the answer to the problem of safely transporting the youngest member of the family.
Fascine mattresses
A fascine mattress is a large woven brushwood mat. A fascine mattress protects the sea bottom against erosion by currents. Also riverbanks and streams are strengthened by it.The most important parts of a fascine mattress are the willow twig rolls and woven brushwood rolls. Because of the materials from which it’s made, it’s a natural and environmentally-friendly product. The wood has other properties, such as pliability, sturdiness, and the ability to float. These properties are important in the entire process: from the construction of the fascine mattresses to their submersion. During submersion, the fascine mattresses are positioned. The mattress is made on a patch of ground at the water’s edge. Once the wickerwork is ready, tugboats will drag it to the desired location. The mattress is then weighed down with blocks of basalt and sinks to the bottom. This has to happen exactly at the time between low and high tide, when there are no tidal currents. In this way the bottom is protected against strongly flowing water so that there is no deformation of the bottom and the banks. The blocks of basalt in their turn ensure that the mattress stays in place and protects the banks against waves. This protection lasts for up to 100 years.Fascine mattresses were also made after the 1953 North Sea Flood to serve as a foundation upon which the caissons could be placed.
List of victim’s names
Here you see the names of the victims arranged alphabetically by village with also a mention of their ages. Sometimes you’ll see a long row with the same name: this refers to large families all of whose members drowned. You’ll also find children who were only a few days old, as well as the names of people who died in the flood at a very old age.
Monuments
The first victims were buried in emergency cemeteries; later, a reburial took place, and at that time the victims were often buried together with a monument as a memorial site.At a number of these locations, yearly commemorations take place on the 1st of February – often with school children present. The commemorations take place near the memorial monuments.On the right, in the niche, you’ll see a monument that very aptly states 'tested but not broken', the original being in Zierikzee at the Zuidhavenpoort.A book describing all of these monuments is available in the museum shop.In this niche you can also see the official list of victims made by the Red Cross.
Wedding dress
This wedding dress belonged to Truus Roks-van Eekelen. She was drowned together with her baby daughter Ineke on the night of the disaster. In all its simplicity, it is a beautiful sky-blue dress, made with love and craftsmanship by the twenty-year-old bride. Her husband Piet Roks later remarried and he and his second wife have always kept this wedding dress, veil, Truus’ bridal bouquet and Ineke’s baby clothes. Their daughter donated this special dress and other special items to the North Sea Flood Museum. As far back as she can remember, the North Sea Flood and her father’s indescribable grief has played a prominent role in the family. Her mother never suppressed that; on the contrary, she always lovingly portrayed the memory of the young mother and her baby. A photograph of Ineke was on the dresser, and in the bedroom were two wedding pictures: one of her father and mother, and of her father together with Truus.
Relief supplies
People from around the world rushed to send relief supplies ranging from food to agricultural tools. Some of the gifts and countries are named here – for instance, 500 camp beds came from France, 6,000 crates of oranges from Israel, 3 tons of blankets from Australia, and from India 5 tons of jute bags. A lot of clothing was collected in our country and many still remember the special campaign ‘Open your purse and close the dikes’. Under the leadership of Johan Bodegraven, a fundraising campaign raised three million guilders.
Cleanup
When the water was gone, it was time to clean up. Groups of housewives from all over Holland came to the disaster area to help. Home after home was freed of mud and other rubbish. All household items that had been submerged were replaced. Not only housewives, but also groups of foreign students came to help. They worked hard during the day and in the evening they fraternised with the population and other aid workers.There were also aid workers who cleared the animal cadavers, a difficult task because the cadavers were often found still in their own stables.
Caissons
Colossi for peace and securityHere you can see the story of the caissons: ‘Colossi for peace and security’. They were built in 1943/44 in England for the landings of the allied armies in Normandy and Belgium. Because this last landing did not take place, a number of caissons were left over. After the Second World War, some were used to seal the bombed dikes on the island of Walcheren and later to close the Brielse Maas and the Braakman. In the end, the last 8 Phoenix caissons were bought in 1953 and towed to our country to help close the dikes.Apart from these big caissons there were almost 500 small caissons made in Holland itself. One of these so-called unit caissons can be seen opposite the entrance to the museum.
Closure
In this niche you can see the sealing of the last breach near Ouwerkerk on November 6th, 1953. There was a first attempt to close the flow gap with the help of the small unit caissons. When that failed, it was decided to use the Phoenix caissons to seal the gap. In this niche you can see a model of a Phoenix caisson, also called an AX caisson.With this model you can see where you are in the caisson at this moment. As you can see there is a great deal of sand under your feet before you get to the bottom of the caisson. You will also see that the lower half of the caisson has the same concrete partitions as the ones you see above your head. The next caisson was excavated up to this construction and you can clearly see one of the bottom partitions.
Caisson 3
reconstruction and awarenessThis caisson tells the story of the reconstruction: working with might and main, day and night to repair the dikes, houses, rehabilitating the devastated landscape, villages and towns.Repairing of the dikes alone is not enough; it must be better and safer. The Delta Works(zegt Engelstaligen helemaal niets dus ik wijd hier een beetje meer uit), a comprehensive engineering program initiated after the national government enacted the Delta Plan stipulating significantly higher construction standards for the national coastal defense, must ensure that such a disaster will never happen again.Yet that possibility is not completely ruled out. Experience in the Flood museum how it is when your home floods. What can you do best in such a situation? Would you take a mobile phone to the loft? Or would you bring canned food?The Delta Viewer lets you experience how the various water issues and their possible solutions relate to each other.
Large machines
The large machines that you see were actually employed in the disaster area to make it habitable and safe again after the North Sea Flood. Washed up sand had to be removed, new ditches and roads had to be laid out. The special thing is that these machines were brought inside of this caisson before the rest was built, so they can never be removed.Next to and opposite the machines you’ll find all kinds of small material that was used during the works, as well as a dike worker’s cabin. It was used as a lunch shed and a storage space for tools.
Through the glass wall you can see the North Sea Flood Monument that was unveiled during the early morning of February 1, 2003 on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the disaster.Old photos of swirling water in the streets and flooded homes inspired the artist Gust Romijn (1922-2010) to portray waves cutting through old walls.The artist wanted to portray the event in a universal way, but at the same time the monument serves as memorial to always remind the viewer of the unequal battle against the waters. Romijn wanted his monument to be recognisable from afar: a landmark that at once gives the impression of waves surging into the home and hearth.A brief but refined line of text adorns the monument: 'the water, the storm, the silence'.The municipal commemoration takes place next to this monument every year on the 1st of February, and the national commemoration takes place every five years.
Caisson 4
The futureAfter the trauma of 1953, the Netherlands worked diligently to build an upgraded coastal defense line. However, around the world, floods occur in increasing frequency and severity.The interactive exhibit "The water keeps coming. Fighting the flood of tomorrow" uses the Flood of 1953 as a starting point to see how floods can develop now and in the future. In the Netherlands, thousands of people work hard to keep the country dry. But how are other nations coping? In the fourth caisson it becomes clear: the fight against the water is far from over.
Fourth caisson
The waters keep coming – struggling against tomorrow’s flood.The fourth caisson uses the disaster of 1953 as a starting point for an examination into how floods, now and in the future, might develop. The world seems to be increasingly struck by severe storms, heavier rainfall, and rising sea levels. For this reason hundreds of people in the Netherlands are working every day to keep everyone high and dry. The shock of 1953 is still felt here. But, how is it in other countries? Play the interactive ‘water issues’ scenarios and ‘a daily struggle’ to find out. Dig up polders and dikes or pump away any excess water in the water workshop. Look at the exhibition portraying the historical role of flooding in culture and politics. Many floods still occur daily around the world, taking their toll of victims and damage. As the fourth caisson makes clear, the struggle against the water is far from over.
End of the tour
Thank you for visiting the Watersnoodmuseum. Many scars from the 1953 disaster can still be discovered in the landscape. In this app you can follow walking and cycling routes along the Water Past of different areas and tell stories of people who have somehow experienced the power of the water. Want to eat or drink something first? Then we would like to welcome you in our museum brasserie Het Vijfde Caisson.
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