Episode 3: The Aamsveen as a smuggler's paradise - 'that's how they got rich'
Whenever there are price differences on either side of a border, this leads to smuggling. The Aamsveen was ideal for this. The local smugglers knew the routes in the moor, which meant they didn’t fall into the clutches of the customs officers. When I asked what was being smuggled, Koning replied: ‘What wasn’t?’ The smuggling ranged from coffee and tobacco to cows and horses. Of course, all kinds of cunning methods were used. A popular excuse was broken fences: at night the cows broke through the fencing (with a little help from the farmers) and the next day they had crossed the border into Germany. Unfortunately, they were ‘untraceable …’ Horses’ heads and tails were tied together and a whole ‘train’ crossed the border.
Six oaks
There were also times when smuggling was not exactly fought passionately. According to stories, there was a ‘shop’ at the well-known six pine trees (now five oaks) in the Aamsveen a ‘shop’. This was Toon Hut’s shop. Toon Hut sold all kinds of smuggled goods. There were also such shops elsewhere in the border area, which were knowingly tolerated by military police and customs officials. Koning does not rule out the possibility that they were also customers, but is not sure – it all happened before his time. However, he is certain that all the farmers were involved. ‘That’s how they got rich.