The Monument of Tolerance

This Monument was unveiled on 8 March 2001 as a reminder of the war years 1940-1945 and of the more than 800 soldiers of 11 nationalities who lost their lives in the Leudal area. A CD-ROM has been placed in the heart of the monument on which that information is recorded. On our website the stories of these fallen soldiers can be viewed in a database.

The Monument of Tolerance is a regional monument. It is a lasting memory of the military who lost their lives in the overall territory of the present municipality of Leudal, the territory of the municipality of Nederweert which lies east of the Wessem-Nederweert canal and the Noordervaart and the territory of the municipalities of Maasgouw and Roermond which lies east of the river Meuse.

The sculpture, cast in bronze, was made by sculptor Thea Houben from Roggel. It consists of a half arc on an equilateral triangle that symbolizes the Divine. The seagulls represent freedom. The sword with the laurel wreath and the clasped hands indicate the struggle that has been fought and the fraternization over death. The design of this application as well as the symbolism of the seagulls is the idea of John Wagemans. The base of the monument is closed with boulders, one for every soldier killed. The red rays in the pavement symbolize the nationalities of the fallen.