Statue of Judith

The statue of Judith in the Grote Markt was created by Niel Steenbergen and serves as a reminder of the Second World War. He would have preferred to make a statue of David: a small man who cleverly defeated the brutal violence of the giant. However, this turned out to be too expensive for the residents of Breda, who had collectively raised 38,600 guilders. This amount was sufficient to finance the statue of Judith. The sculptor himself obtained the stone for this statue from a quarry near Brussels.

Judith was a Jewish woman who symbolises the triumph of good over evil. The animal heads at the top represent human virtues. The pedestal bears various relevant texts such as 'A life deprived of freedom is a life in rebellion' and 'Their will was law, their law was death'.