The Gideon band
One of the most sensational actions of the resistance movement which, among other places, operated out of Kloosterstraat 9 in Assen was the raid on the local jail house, The Detention Center, on 11 December 1944.
The occasion.
At one of the arms drops on the moors of Drenthe too much material was delivered, that it simply could not be collected in one night. On the second night, members of the Strong-arm squad of the region northern Drenthe ran into a German night patrol. The Germans captured the members of the Strong-arm squad and incarcerated them in the Detention Center in Assen. As a result of other unrelated actions and through betrayal the Germans also succeeded in capturing a few dozen other resistance fighters belonging to the northern Drenthe group.
Most captured realized that the future looked grim. The death sentence usually was given for the type of "crime" these men were accused of. The majority of these men were young, between the ages of 20 to 30 years. All were members of the Strong-arm squad of the region northern Drenthe. For safety reasons, the members of the Resistance movement still at large decided to liberate their comrades in arms during a daring raid to be carried out on the Detention Center. However, the question was raised, "How are we going to accomplish this?" Would an occasion arise during one of the transports of prisoners perhaps, or was the risk of a gun battle be too great for the prisoners?
