Alle Folgen

The summer brought prosperity to Schokland: full nets and a harbor full of ships. Yet faith and power divided the small island. Huub Stapel discovers, together with descendants Kim Bouw, Harriët Locht‑Kwakman and Theo Grootjen, the lively Schokland of that time. Eva Vriend and Yftinus van Popta reveal the stories behind the island, while in Volendam Jan Dulles, Jaap Kwakman and Kees Tol show how the Schokker influence still lives on.

After the summer’s bloom, fate struck: floods, storms and poverty plagued Schokland, which was slowly swallowed by the sea. Yet the Schokkers held on, together with their songs and faith. Huub Stapel uses a deep drill to go back 1,200 years and sees how often the island was inundated. Eva Vriend explains how the inhabitants tried to defend themselves against the water. In Urk, Huub hears about the ties between the two islands; on Schokland he talks with Taubu Komwe from Kiribati about life on a sinking island, and he meets the Schokker choir in the chapel, which brings the voices of their ancestors back to life.

The winter of 1825 marked the downfall of Schokland: a devastating storm completely flooded the island, a blow from which it never recovered. Poverty, humiliation, and calls for evacuation followed. The Schokkers, who had lived on the island for ten thousand years, were forced to leave, but were welcomed nowhere with open arms. Huub Stapel dives into the deep sedimentary history of Schokland, among the remains of mammoths and hippos. Together with Eva Vriend he discovers how the Schokkers were portrayed as an inferior people. Kees Mossel and his granddaughter Anne‑Eva speak about the aftermath of that stigma, and Jan Diender reflects in the harbor of Emmeloord on the departure of his ancestors.

​In the spring of 1859 the Schokkers left their island forever. Their community fell apart and Schokland took on a new life as an airfield, storage site and research area, but without its inhabitants. Even the bones of their ancestors disappeared. Only generations later did homesickness and pride grow again. No matter how far the Schokkers were from their island, the bond remained undiminished. Huub Stapel travels to the places where the Schokkers found a new home. In Vollenhove Jan Kwakman shows him Schokker artifacts; Huub meets Gerri Derksen‑Diender and her grandson Bas at the Zuiderzee Museum; Kitlyn Tjin A Djie talks about the aftermath of migration; birdwatcher Arjan Dwarshuis demonstrates how Schokland turned into a paradise for birds; and in Brunnepe Huub and Eva Vriend help with the fish‑traps. Finally, Huub discovers at the South Point what happened to the Schokkers’ bones.