When I say football heroes, I don’t mean heroes on the pitch, scoring goals and winning matches, even though they did that too. In this case I am referring to the conduct of the whole football club.
Sunday, 22 June 1941, the same day that Germany broke the non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union and invaded the USSR, PEC Zwolle became champion at the post-competition. PEC became 1st with 10 points and thus, was promoted to 1st class.
Vitesse was the opponent on neutral ground, Sportpark Kerschoten in Apeldoorn. The Dutch national anthem played [banned by the Germans] sounded from thousands singing, and the enthusiasm was infectious. Eventually, the game concluded with a win 2-1, and promotion was a fact.
PEC Zwolle is a Dutch football club from Zwolle, the capital of the province of Overijssel. in the Netherlands. In 1910 the club was founded as PEC.
22 June 1941 was a very, warm day. The match took place at a temperature of 32° Celcius [90° Fahrenheit].
By 15 September 1941, Jews were no longer allowed to enter sports fields or pitches.
While almost all clubs fully collaborated with the Germans and expelled their Jewish members, PEC resisted the ordinance of the Nazi occupier. Two girls wanted to sign up as athletes at the club. Wim Peters, who had invited them to his home for a visit, soon realized what they were made of. The two NSB girls were rejected as members, as a result, the Zwolle club was dissolved at the initiative of the Sicherheits Dienst. The only other Dutch club that also showed such resistance was Unitas from Gorinchem. A prominent member of both clubs left for a concentration camp. The Zwolle club secretary Wim Peters and Huub Sterkenburg from Unitas were sent to Camp Vught (Herzogenbusch). From there he was departed to Neuengamme, where he was murdered.
Eventually, eight PEC Zwolle players would die because of the war. These were G. de Groot, N.M. Koper, C. Masseus, M. Veterman, J. Veterman, E. Veterman, M. Veterman, and H. Zilverberg.
The photograph at the top of this piece was the team of the 1940/41 season. Unfortunately, I am not able to find the names of the players.
sources
https://www.wikiwand.com/nl/PEC_in_het_seizoen_1940/41
https://www.gvvunitas.nl/538/geschiedenis/
https://peczwolle.nl/nieuws/historisch-besef-deel-3
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