It is named after Jan Hunfeld, a Dutch journalist whose weekly science page in the Meppeler Courant (based in Meppel) included activities of the Royal Dutch amateur astronomy society.
The first killings took place in autumn 1943 in Meppel and Staphorst, and within a year more than 54 Dutchmen had been murdered or severely wounded.
Meppel |
The region is nearly surrounded by three provincial borders: in the west that of Flevoland (Noordoostpolder region), in the north that of Friesland (Stellingwerven region) and in the east that of Drenthe (the municipalities of Westerveld and Meppel).
In the 1970s, the railway was the scene of two train hijackings by South-Moluccans: in 1975 at Wijster, and in 1977 at De Punt.