As radios had been requisitioned by the occupying forces, people from Hulst regularly met at the corner of Korte-Lange Nieuwstraat and Zomerstraat to exchange the latest news. It was a beautiful late summer evening on 13 September 1944 when, at 9pm, the first artillery shelling took place from De Klinge, 3.5 km away in Belgium.

Advancing, Polish artillery units had taken up new positions on the border and had started 'shooting in'. That is, data such as direction, load, elevation and so on had yet to be measured in order to hit the established targets. A Polish grenade fell precisely on the Hulsten people's meeting point. This resulted in six dead and several wounded.

The fallen were buried in the municipal cemetery on Glacisweg. The plaque commemorates these civilian casualties and was made by sculptor Ronny Ivens.