Kamp Sint-Michielsgestel

Notable hostages On 4 May 1942, Kamp Sint-Michielsgestel, located in the Beekvliet minor seminary in Sint-Michielsgestel, was opened. The first inhabitants were 460 prominent Dutch individuals arrested that day, including politicians, mayors, professors, clergy, lawyers, writers, and musicians. Until the end of 1944, hundreds of notable Dutch citizens were held hostage. The Nazis believed that by holding these people as hostages, they could control the Dutch resistance and stated that they would be executed in the event of unrest in the country. In early 1943, the Indische hostages were transferred to Ruwenberg, one and a half kilometers from Beekvliet, but still part of Kamp Sint-Michielsgestel. The hostages had relatively more freedom there. Executions On 15 August 1942, five notable hostages were killed as reprisal for a failed bombing in Rotterdam on a train of the German army. They were Willem Ruys, Robert Baelde, Otto Ernst Gelder, Christoffel Bennekers, and Alexander Schimmelpenninck van der Oye. A second execution of fifteen notable hostages took place in October 1942, again in retaliation for acts of resistance. == Activities ==

Intellectual activities The notable hostages, many of whom were intellectuals, organised seminars for each other on subjects such as history, philosophy, drawing, and economics. Because of these activities, some hostages nicknamed it the ''People's university''. Heeren Zeventien Seventeen men led by Wim Schermerhorn formed the '''' (Gentlemen Seventeen), named after the leadership of the Dutch East India Company. It included Day von Balluseck, Willem Banning, Ton Barge, Louis Einthoven, Pieter Geijl, Marinus van der Goes van Naters, Dolf Joekes, Max Kohnstamm, Hendrik Kraemer, Piet Lieftinck, Nicolaas Okma, Jan de Quay, Maan Sassen, Teun Struycken and Frans Wijffels. This group discussed the future of the Netherlands after the war. Legacy One of the legacies of the political activities was the founding of the Nederlandse Volksbeweging and later the Labour Party (PvdA). The hostages had however underestimated the firmness of the pillars and the anticipated breakthrough failed to materialize. == Prisoners==