HISTORICAL RESEARCH / CASE STUDY 02 · OPEN INVESTIGATION
A Body in a Canal
A brief report in the underground press. A man who disappeared. And a death whose circumstances remain unresolved.
FIRST CLUE · 25 APRIL 1944
A few lines in an illegal newspaper
On April 25 1944 a peculiar notice appeared in an illegal paper, “De Waarheid” (The truth).
Alkmaar
A large pike was retrieved from the canal. On closer inspection it turned out to be the remains of the provocateur Punt, who had disappeared without a trace eight weeks before.
A quick search through the archives in Alkmaar did not result in anything, apart from this notice I found no clue as to who this Punt was, what happened and why this was reported in this paper.
I had stumbled upon an intriguing mystery but didn’t know it yet. I will share here how I came across this notice, and where the research led me. So far.
A surviving newspaper clipping, dated 25 April 1944. Click the image to examine it.
THE STORY CONTINUES
Follow the investigation
I will share new findings here, one piece of evidence at a time, and in short updates on social media. Have a name, a document or a family memory that may help?