On January 18th 1929 four policemen went to meet Aaltje Wobbes-van der Tuin who had recently moved in with IJje Wijkstra, who had lived by himself in the small village named Doezum in the south... Show moreOn January 18th 1929 four policemen went to meet Aaltje Wobbes-van der Tuin who had recently moved in with IJje Wijkstra, who had lived by himself in the small village named Doezum in the south-western part of the province Groningen. Aaltje’s husband was imprisoned for theft. She took all her assets with her except her six under aged children which was a criminal offence. Within the hour of their arrival the policemen lay dead in the snow with their throats slit. Wijkstra had set his house on fire and fled the scene but was arrested later on that day. Upon being asked why he did it, he replied ‘they provoked me.’ This murder caused a lot of commotion. This study is about the life and times of the convicted murderer Wijkstra. Specifically his community is being studied in order to answer the question how and under what circumstances the principal players got caught in this fatal conflict and what role his community played as a third party therein. The unprecedented nature and size of this tragedy demanded an explanation. A further question in this study is which explanations were offered by the different parties involved and what conclusions that warrants. Show less
