The Stone Man / Prisoner in front of the firing squad - Leusden

Near the former concentration camp Amersfoort is a 350 metres long shooting range. In 1953 the statue Prisoner in front of the firing squad was unveiled here. In popular speech the statue is also called The Stone Man. The man is the symbol of a prisoner in front of the firing squad and reminds of the fallen victims in Kamp Amersfoort. The position of his hands reflects his inner conflict. One fist is clenched, as a sign of the powerless anger and the unbroken will to resist. The other hand is open, representing despair. The sculpture was made by Frits Sieger, who is a former prisoner himself.

The prisoners of Camp Amersfoort had to dig out the shooting range themselves. It was one of the many execution sites in this area. After the war, several mass graves were found near the shooting range. At the end of the shooting range, the grave of the prisoners who were shot in revenge for the attack on SS officer Hanns Rauter, the Nazi leader of the Dutch police, was found. The Stone Man stands on the site of this grave.