Jan van Hout

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Jan van Hout
Van Hout in 1933
Personal information
Born(1908-10-17)17 October 1908
Valkenburg aan de Geul, Netherlands
Died22 February 1945(1945-02-22) (aged 36)
Neuengamme concentration camp, Nazi Germany
Team information
DisciplineTrack
RoleRider

Jan van Hout (17 October 1908 – 22 February 1945) was a Dutch cyclist. A resistance fighter, he died in the Holocaust.

Career

Van Hout was a cyclist between 1932 and 1940.[1] On 25 August 1933, he set a new hour record at the velodrome in Maasniel, beating the previous record set by Francis Faure in July 1933.[1] Former record holder Oscar Egg disputed the result, claiming that he had measured the course and that van Hout had covered 3.45 metres (11.3 ft) too little each lap.[1] However, there were doubts about the accuracy of Egg's measurement.[1]

World War II

Van Hout used winnings from his career to open a café in Eindhoven.[2] After the German invasion of the Netherlands, van Hout closed his restaurant so that he, a committed anti-fascist, did not have to serve them in his shop.[2] During the occupation, he supported the resistance movement.[2] In 1945, van Hout was arrested by the Gestapo near Eindhoven and deported to Neuengamme concentration camp, where he died on 22 February 1945.[2]

In the 1950s, Anneke van Hout-Louwers, van Hout's widow, stirred controversy by marrying fellow cyclist Cor Wals.[3] Wals was a Waffen-SS serviceman during World War II and was rumoured to have been assigned to Neuengamme to specifically guard van Hout.[3]

Monument

On 15 May 2006, due to promotion by sports journalist Jean Nelissen, a monument to van Hout was erected in his birthplace of Valkenburg.[4] His widow and cyclist Bernard Hinault presented the monument.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Snel Roermonds hout goed voor uurrecord op de fiets". www.maasniel.nl. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d Elshout, Dominique. "Jan van Hout, een taaie". www.elshout.nu. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  3. ^ a b Barend, Frits; van Dorp, Henk (1982). "Mijn Verhaal".
  4. ^ a b "Tour de France Valkenburg: "Bernard Hinault onthult monument vergeten Valkenburger Jan van Hout"". tourdefrance-valkenburg.nl. 9 May 2006. Archived from the original on 12 September 2012. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
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