Magazijnen – Gesterweg 22

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Magazijnen – Gesterweg 22

These four storage sheds on the Gesterweg were built in 1937 and were used as warehouses for the Defense Line Den Oever. The thirteen casemates around the Stevin locks are part of the Defense Line of Den Oever. These bunkers were the heaviest ever built by the Dutch armed forces for defence. These four sheds were part of a complex of six sheds and a house on Gesterweg. The warehouses were camouflaged as farms, making them as inconspicuous as possible in the landscape and from the air. On August 28, 1939, the general mobilization of the Dutch army started to prevent a German invasion. The Defense Line of Den Oever was reinforced with two artillery weapons. After the German invasion in 1940, the German soldiers took possession of the position and it became a guarded crossing point. When the German attack stopped after the defeat at El Alamein and Stalingrad, the position was again fully manned and reinforced with artillery from 1943. Den Oever thus became part of the Atlantic Wall. That was a 5,000-mile defense line. The warehouses on Gesterweg were used by the German occupiers throughout the war. After World War II, ties between the Soviet Union and Western Europe and the United States deteriorated. NATO was founded in 1949. NATO military leadership expected a Soviet attack to come unexpectedly. The leadership wanted the troops to be ready to repel any attack. All these troops had to be quickly resupplied and it was decided to set up mobilization complexes (MOB complex). Stocks were stored in these complexes. These supplies were necessary so that sufficient material, weapons, ammunition, medicines and food were stored in the event of a war. In some cases, such as in Den Oever, existing defense components were (re)used. From 1952 to 1960, the Den Oever position was manned again because of the Cold War. The complex on Gesterweg had been taken into use as a MOB complex. Military vehicles were stored on the ground floor. Fuel and food were stored on the floor. The ammunition was in the basement. In 1989 there was an end to the Cold War. From this moment on it was no longer necessary in the Netherlands to store military supplies in Den Oever. Much material was disposed of, but the sale took several years, which is why most of the complexes were still in use well into the 1990s. The complex on Gesterweg was split in 1995 into four lots, each with a building. It was sold by the State Department of Domains to private individuals. Sources The architectural-historical research of MOOI Noord-Holland into one of the warehouses. https://defensiefotografie.nl/mob-complex/mob/den-oever/

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