Exactly 75 years ago there was a robbery at the detention centre in Assen. After a planned last drop, at the end of October 1944, a number of members of the Knokploeg Noord-Drenthe were captured by the Germans. 
After interrogation, the men ended up in the Detention Center in Assen. All members of this resistance group, who called themselves 'The Gideonsbende', were about to be executed on 12 December 1944. The remaining members of the commando team therefore decided to liberate their fellow fighters, despite orders from London to refrain from a liberation action.
The house of two members of the resistance group, Jan Bulthuis and his sister Marie Zandvliet-Bulthuis, was just behind the House of Detention, at Kloosterstraat 9. Here the liberation action was set in motion. Under the pseudonym 'Gideonsbende' the members of the resistance meticulously planned the action.
I have this Morse transmitter in my collection. In 2012 taken over from the contents of the war museum at Kloosterstraat 9 in Assen, which was unfortunately closed down at that time. With this transmitter, members of the Gideonsbende sent Morse from that address to London. Probably also the message was passed on that the robbery on the House of Detention in Assen was successful.
In the end the action went smoothly and the 31 prisoners could be freed within 15 minutes, and without a single shot being fired.

Documentary about Gideonsbende (in Dutch)

 
Kloosterstraat 9
I took this picture of the war museum in Assen, which was located at the Kloosterstraat 9 in Assen. This was the heart of the resistance, the Gideonsbende. Here the robbery of the nearby detention centre was prepared and carried out from here. Enno Smit's war museum was visited regularly, until he decided to stop. The collection was offered for sale. From this collection a number of army helmets, a sign "Forbidden for Jews" and a transmitter have been taken over, which have now been added to my collection.
 
A hatch gave access to a shelter. When it was a museum, there was a typewriter, a radio and a Morse signalling device, which I took from the collection.
 
On 12 May 2001, secret agent and author of the book "De Gideonsbende", Willem van der Veer, visited the war museum in Assen. He signed the book I have from him.