The city of Tiel was badly damaged in the war years 1944-1945. In the months of June-August 1945, the debris was cleared. Anything not reusable was dumped in the Old Harbour. In the following years, the population was called upon to donate money for a commemorative statue. This was placed in the park created on the Old Harbour, on top of the war rubble.

The statue was unveiled on 4 May 1950 by Mrs Laagwater-van Scherpenzeel, the widow of the fallen resistance fighter G.J. Laagwater.

In 1997, the park at the Oude Haven was replaced by a car park. In consultation with survivors and relatives of victims, the statue was moved to the park near St Martin's Church in July 1997.

In 2009, a stone in memory of the four people from Tiel who lost their lives in the Indonesian war of independence in 1945-1949, was placed next to the statue. In 2019, a stone was also added there in memory of the Moluccan KNIL soldiers who died during that battle or later died in exile in the Netherlands.