Draft:Ids de Beer

Ids de Beer (Nes (West-Dongeradeel), July 7, 1916 – Leeuwarden, February 2, 1945) was a Dutch resistance fighter during World War II.

De Beer worked as a traveling salesman and lived in Dokkum. He was a member of the Dokkum branch of the LO (National Organization for Assistance to People in Hiding). His resistance alias was "Viervoeter" (Four-Legged). A devout member of the Reformed Church, De Beer acted against injustice, driven by his Biblical convictions. He was married and left behind a wife and two children.

During a resistance operation, two German soldiers were killed. After the execution of twenty prisoners on January 22, 1945, along the Woudweg in Dokkum as a reprisal, the Germans intensified their efforts to track down resistance members. Resistance fighters in the region quickly sought safety, as their names were on the Germans' wanted list. De Beer was among those listed, and he was eventually discovered on January 31, 1945, when he briefly returned home. While attempting to flee under wintery and foggy conditions, De Beer was shot by a German soldier. No one was allowed to help him. It wasn't until the afternoon that neighbors were able to place him on a ladder, which served as an improvised stretcher, and carry him back to his home. The Germans then took him to a hospital in Leeuwarden, where he was interrogated before succumbing to his wounds on February 2, 1945.

A resistance monument on the Dwinger of the Noorderbolwerk in Dokkum bears the names of 51 victims from the German occupation, including Ids de Beer. He is buried in the Reformed Cemetery in Nes. A personal memorial for him and other resistance fighters has been erected in this village. A street in Nes, the Ids de Beerstrjitte, is named in his honor. In 2019, the first Ids de Beer Lecture was held in Theaterkerk Nes, and it has since become an annual event in Nes.

Ids de Beer