Dutch resistance fighter.

  • The Stroomenbergh Family

    I am a great believer in balance. It is good to have a balanced view of life. I have written quite a bit on how the Dutch failed their Jewish-fellow citizens, and the Dutch complacency might be considered a crime. However, as I mentioned earlier, sometimes you need to take a step back and take…

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  • Escape to Victory

    I wasn’t sure what to call this post. I had considered the title “Mission Impossible” but I did go with “Escape to Victory.” On 8 December 1944, the KP (Knok Ploeg-boxing crew) resistance group in Friesland managed to liberate 51 members of the resistance from the Blokhuispoort, the detention centre in Leeuwarden, without any escalation…

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  • In the past I have been very critical of my fellow Dutch men and women, in relation to the role they played during World War 2. While most opposed the Nazi occupation, they did very little to resist. Of course it is very easy to be critical looking back. In all honesty if I would…

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  • Hitler expected very little resistance from the Dutch because he saw them as kindred spirits and fellow aryans. When he decided to invade the Netherlands he expected a similar reception as he got in Austria, but he was wrong. Although the invasion only took 3 days the Germans suffered heavy losses. As in the other…

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  • After the February Strike of 1941, in Amsterdam, the sculptor and draftsman Cor van Teeseling joined a Resistance group that printed and distributed the illegal Communist newspaper De Waarheid (Lit. The Truth). Six months later, the Germans arrested him. On 10 November 1941, the death sentence was pronounced against him. While awaiting execution Van Teeseling…

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