Small Island That Connects Georgia and the Netherlands 🇬🇪🇳🇱

As you may know from my previous blogs, I enjoy writing about the historical connections between Georgia and other cultures. The Netherlands is one of the countries I have always wanted to write about. I have personally hosted many guests from the Netherlands, and I have always been impressed by their kindness, discipline, punctuality, and respect for local culture. Of course, they also love Georgia, so I believe this story could make Georgia even more interesting for them.

The story I would like to tell goes back to the final days of the Second World War. In April 1945, the small Dutch island of Texel became the scene of one of the last battles of the war in Europe.

A German military unit, the 822nd Georgian Battalion, formed by around 800 captured Georgian soldiers, was deployed on the Western Front. These Georgians eventually decided to organize a major uprising against the Germans. The commander of the Georgian battalion was Shalva Loladze.

The local population of Texel supported the Georgians because they also wanted freedom from German occupation. However, the Germans eventually managed to suppress the uprising after sending additional forces to the island.

The uprising began on April 6 and continued until May 20, 1945. Out of the 800 men in the Georgian unit, only around 200 survived. Many of them survived because local Dutch families hid them in their homes and protected them from German forces.

The final battle on Texel took place near its famous lighthouse. There was nowhere left to retreat — the Georgians were standing at the very edge of the island. Georgian soldiers fortified themselves inside the lighthouse tower, but in the end, the Germans blew it up with explosives.

Grisha Baindurashvili was one of the few who miraculously survived even that explosion. He later recalled the heartbreaking memories of the battle:

“We knew that all of us would probably die there...

One evening, two other Georgians and I went out on a reconnaissance mission. Suddenly, we heard a dog barking. That meant the raid had already begun.

We had no other choice — we had to hide inside a nearby haystack.

One of the soldiers brought a ladder and climbed all the way to the top of the stack. Even after 70 years, I can still see that moment clearly before my eyes. He was a young man with dark hair.

I was aiming my rifle directly at him, while his finger rested on the trigger. We stayed like that for several long seconds...

Then, unexpectedly, he turned around, climbed back down the ladder, and walked away.

I heard him say: ‘No, there are no Russian partisans here.’”

And this was how the Battle of Texel finally came to an end.

Today, there is a memorial cemetery on Texel dedicated to the Georgian soldiers who died

Memorial of fallen Georgian soldiers in Texel

fighting against the Wehrmacht — even though they had once been forced to serve within it.

This small island remains an emotional and powerful connection between Georgia and the Netherlands.

Mukhran Guliashvili

usedsourse: https://www.radiotavisupleba.ge/amp/31863755.html