Â
SHOES OF HOPE AND FREEDOM
At the Shoe Quarter, you'll discover how shoes are more than just something you wear. They tell stories. About identity, about self-expression, and about how we find - sometimes literally - our place in the world.
In our spotlight case, we show you how powerful that meaning can be. This presentation is dedicated to 80 years of freedom in the Langstraat. You will see shoes from the Second World War, made in a time of extreme scarcity. When leather was hardly available, shoemakers from the Langstraat turned to alternative materials such as wood, rubber, textile and even paper. The shoes created then are examples of pure ingenuity - born of necessity, worn with hope.
Together with photographs from the war years and from the liberation in Waalwijk - especially around the Kropholler complex - we bring a piece of local history to life. We also pay attention to freedom in a broader sense, including with a short film about shoes used as a means of protest worldwide.
The presentation in the spotlight case shows that even in the most difficult times, people find ways to keep going - and shoes literally play a role in that. They symbolize resilience, creativity and the desire for freedom.
Eighty years after the Liberation, we realize all the more that freedom is not something we can take for granted. It is something we must cherish together and pass on. The Shoe Quarter contributes to this in its own way - step by step.
Â
