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Object of the Month – September 2025
German Weapon, Zeeland Story
At first glance, this appears to be a standard German service pistol from the Second World War: a Walther P38, made of steel with dark Bakelite grips and a magazine for 9 mm Parabellum rounds. The design dates back to 1938 and gradually replaced the well-known Luger P08. The P38 was regarded as robust, reliable, and efficient, and was widely used by German soldiers. But this particular example tells a very different story – one of resistance, courage, and a perilous encounter on the shores of the Western Scheldt.
Ko Veerhoek: Resistance Fighter and Local Hero
The pistol belonged to Jacobus (“Ko”) Veerhoek from Hansweert, born in 1920. During the German occupation, he became actively involved in the resistance in Zuid-Beveland. Ko carried out several life-threatening actions, including disabling explosives placed beneath the Vlake Bridge and removing a live grenade from the church tower in Schore. His most remarkable act was rescuing an Allied pilot who had parachuted into the tidal flats near Waarde in September 1944.
An Encounter Under Enemy Fire
On 9 September 1944, Ko was working in his orchard when he saw an Allied aircraft catch fire over the Western Scheldt. The pilot, Geale William Hewson from Canada, bailed out and landed in the mudflats near the coast. Without hesitation, Ko pulled on his boots and set out alone to rescue the man. As German soldiers approached and even opened fire, the pilot destroyed his papers and threw away his pistol – this very Walther P38. Ko hid the weapon under his coat and thus managed to avoid arrest.
From a Moment of War to a Museum Memory
Ko kept the pistol throughout his life as a quiet reminder of that dangerous encounter. For many years, he assumed the weapon had belonged to the Canadian pilot, but it turned out to be a German firearm—likely the very reason the pilot had been so quick to discard it. Being captured with an enemy weapon could have had deadly consequences. After Ko’s death in 2005, his wife, Catharina Veerhoek-Stevense, donated the pistol to the Zeeland Liberation Museum—not as a trophy, but as a tangible symbol of courage, humanity, and the resistance in Zeeland.
