History of Sorts

I had not heard of Tina Strobos before although I have read so much about WWII and the Holocaust, but for some reason her name escaped me. She was born Tineke Buchter.

She was a  was a Dutch physician and psychiatrist from Amsterdam and during WWII she was involved in the Dutch resistance.Together with her mother and grandmother she provided a safe place for about 100 Jews during the German occupation of the Netherlands.

She used her house to hide these Jews,  usually three or four individuals at a time,using a secret compartment in the attic  and a warning bell system to keep them safe from the many sudden police raids. She also smuggled guns and radios for the Dutch resistance and forged passports, by stealing stole  cards from non-Jewish people at social gatherings, to help refugees escape the country..

She knew that if she was ever discovered she would face a certain death.

During the course of the war, she  had been arrested and interrogated by the Gestapo nine times.[ During these interrogations, She would be held by her wrists and thrown against a wall,once she was even knocked unconscious.Despite all this  she never once betrayed the whereabouts of those she hid. In order to endure the interrogations , Tina  learned certain tactics. She always requested for an  interpreter, even though she was  fluent in German, this bought her some time to compose herself. A Nazi officer once commented on her legs, she used this to her advantage and became more courageous : “I realized that he was just a man and he was interested in my legs. So that gave me a sense of power.”

This heroic woman died age 91 on February 27,2012 in New York. Because of people like her I am proud to be Dutch.

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