See-through panels are corten steel frames with a transparent plate. On that plate, a drawing visualises an object/activity that is not (or no longer) visible in the landscape. Through the correct perspective of the drawing and the correct positioning of the frame, the drawing is as it were projected into the current landscape. In this way, a special event or a former structure that stood at a specific location can come back to life for a while. Via the vista panels, we make the special history and unique story of Northeast Polder more visible.
The Pionierswerk vista panel stands near Weller…
See-through panels are corten steel frames with a transparent plate. On that plate, a drawing visualises an object/activity that is not (or no longer) visible in the landscape. Through the correct perspective of the drawing and the correct positioning of the frame, the drawing is as it were projected into the current landscape. In this way, a special event or a former structure that stood at a specific location can come back to life for a while. Via the vista panels, we make the special history and unique story of Northeast Polder more visible.
The Pionierswerk vista panel stands near Wellerzandweg in Bant and tells the story of the reclamation of the Northeast Polder. If you look through the panel, you will see some polder workers digging a ditch in the polder with a shovel. The foreman stands watching with his hands in his pockets.
On 9 September 1942, the Northeast Polder officially fell dry after about a year and a half of milling. As much as 48,000 hectares of fallow land had to be reclaimed. Due to the war conditions, there was not enough fuel for tractors and therefore the earthwork had to be done by hand.
For this, thousands of workers from all parts of the Netherlands came to the polder. During information evenings, workers were told that there was a good chance of getting their own business if they worked in the Northeast Polder. Moreover, a worker who had a work permit for the Northeast Polder did not have to go to Germany for forced labour during World War II.
From the work camps, in which they were housed, the men went out into the vast landscape every day to dig ditches and trenches. Six days a week, they worked 9 hours a day in all weathers on the open plains. Except on Saturdays: then they worked for 5 hours. Under difficult conditions, the polder workers dug ditches and trenches with shovels in the heavy polder clay. Very hard work.
