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Engelandvaarders
''Engelandvaarder'', (literally translated as "England sailer") was the term given during the Second World War to men and women who attempted to escape from the Netherlands across over 100 miles of the North Sea to reach England and freedom. Only about one in ten were successful in the crossing, with most just disappearing in the sea. Once they reached England many joined the Allied forces to help free their country from Nazi Germany. The period covered is between the capitulation of the Dutch armed forces on 15 May 1940 and the Allied invasion of Normandy on 6 June 1944 (D-Day). In July 1940 three Dutchmen escaped from the occupied Netherlands and crossed the North Sea to England in a twelve-foot boat. They were called "''Engelandvaarders''". This first success encouraged many others to try the crossing. Most of these disappeared and were never heard from again. With time, land routes out of the Netherlands developed, and a number of the Dutch reached England by traveling ov ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ida Veldhuyzen Van Zanten
Ida Laura Veldhuyzen van Zanten (22 June 1911 – 19 October 2000) was a Dutch pilot and social worker who was a member of the Dutch resistance during the Second World War and a pilot in the British Air Transport Auxiliary. She was the only woman to receive the Vliegerkruis, the Airman's Cross. Early life and education Ida Laura Veldhuyzen van Zanten was born in Hillegom on 22 June 1911 and grew up with six brothers. Her father was a bulb grower and the family business still exists as Royal Van Zanten. She attended a boarding school in Zetten, where she met fellow student Maria Sluis, with whom she remained friends until the end of her life. Together they went to study at the Christelijk Instituut voor Christelijke Sociale Arbeid (the Christian Social Work Institute) in Amsterdam. They lived in an attic and travelled a lot, including riding on ox-cart to the Pyrenees. Van Zanten worked as an au pair in France for a year and a half, and sailed alone on cargo ships to visit her ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Tazelaar
Peter Tazelaar (5 May 1920 – 6 June 1993) was a member of the Dutch resistance during World War II and worked as an agent for the SOE. Following the war he served in Dutch East Indies, before returning to Europe to work behind the Iron Curtain in Eastern Europe for the United States, which served as an inspiration for Ian Fleming's James Bond series. Resistance In September 1938 he trained to be a midshipman at the Royal Netherlands Naval College. In 1939 he moved to Groningen where he enrolled in the . When war broke out on 10 May 1940, Tazelaar was working for the Dutch Merchant Navy. He tried to escape to England by way of Zeeland and northern France, but he failed to reach England. After returning to Groningen in late May 1940, he came into contact with Midshipman John Birnie. During summer 1940, Birnie had joined a group of cadets and midshipmen that had formed a resistance group called the Ordedienst. Birnie introduced his new friend to the Ordedienst which was based in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alphons Wijnen
Alphonse Jean Henri (Fons) Wijnen (Lieze, Visé, (Belgium), 7 June 1912Leende, 7 March 2001) was a Dutch soldier. He was the officer in charge when the Rawagede massacre took place during the Indonesian National Revolution in which Dutch troops killed over 400 Indonesian civilians.NRC Handelsblad Widows sue Netherlands over Indonesia massacre World War II Wijnen was born as the eldest in a family of ten children. He married and had two children before World War II broke out. After the war he had two children. During the war he fled as Engelandvaarder, through France and Spain to Britain. Rawagede massacre After the war he was sent to the Dutch East Indies for three years and served with the Royal Dutch East Indies Army during the Indonesian National Revolution. Wijnen was involved in a massacre in Rawagede. Despite the recommendation of General Simon Spoor to prosecute Wijnen, in 1947 Dutch Attorney General. H. A. Felderhof decided not to prosecute the responsible major for war ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hugo Pos
Hugo Pos (November 28, 1913 in Paramaribo – November 11, 2000 in Amsterdam) was a Surinamese judge, writer, and poet. Biography Hugo Pos was born in Paramaribo. Raymond was his older brother. In 1925, he left Suriname for the Netherlands to study at the grammar school and later Leiden University, and continued his studies in Paris. In 1940, Germany invaded the Netherlands, and because Pos was Jewish, he tried to escape. His second attempt was successful and Pos managed to reach California via Finland, Russia and Japan. He then decided to go to the United Kingdom to enlist in the army. In 1944, Pos joined the Netherlands Indies Civil Administration, and prosecuted "minor war crimes" for the International Military Tribunal for the Far East in Japan. Pos was back in the Netherlands in 1948, however he decided to return to his native country of Suriname in 1950 where he was appointed as judge and attorney general. Pos also taught at the Law School in Paramaribo. Eddy Hoost, the fi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hans Larive
Etienne Henri "Hans" Larive, MWO, DSC and bar, (23 September 1915 – 28 December 1984) was a Dutch naval officer during World War II. He escaped from the prisoner of war camp Oflag IV-C at Colditz Castle in 1941, and spent the rest of the war in England serving aboard Motor Torpedo Boats. He later wrote his memoir ''Vannacht varen de Hollanders'' (1950), which was republished translated into English as ''The Man Who Came in From Colditz'' (1975) – a pun on the best-selling novel '' The Spy Who Came in from the Cold''. Early life Larive was born on 23 September 1915 in Singapore. He entered the Royal Netherlands Naval College (KIM) in 1934, graduating in 1937, and gaining his commission as '' Luitenant ter Zee (3de klasse)'' on 13 August that year. He was promoted to '' Luitenant ter Zee (2de klasse)'' on 13 August 1939. World War II In May 1940, just a few days before the Germans attacked Holland, he returned from his tour of duty in the Dutch East Indies as Navigation Off ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Piet Kasteel
Petrus Albertus "Piet" Kasteel (4 November 1901 – 13 December 2003) was a Dutch journalist, diplomat, and colonial administrator. He was parliamentary editor of ', and fled to England during World War II where he served for the Dutch government-in-exile. He served as Governor of Curaçao and Dependencies from 15 July 1942 until 4 August 1948, Dutch Ambassador to Chile (1948–1956), to Ireland (1956–1966) and briefly to Israel (1966). Biography Kasteel was born on 4 November 1901 in Zwolle, Netherlands. He converted to the Catholic Church. In 1923, he moved to Amsterdam, where he became a journalist for ''De Tijd'', and founded the Catholic association De Klare Waarheid. In October 1929, he became parliamentary editor of ', then the largest Catholic newspaper in the Netherlands. In 1938, he received his doctorate in political and social sciences from KU Leuven on a biography of prime minister Abraham Kuyper. On 14 May 1940, after the German invasion of the Netherlands, Kaste ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gerrit Jan Van Heuven Goedhart
Gerrit Jan van Heuven Goedhart (19 March 1901 – 8 July 1956) was a Dutch politician, diplomat and journalist. A member of the Labour Party (PvdA), he was Minister of Justice from 1944 to 1945 under Prime Minister Pieter Sjoerds Gerbrandy. He later served as the first United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees from 1951 until 1956. Biography Early life Van Heuven Goedhart was born on 19 March 1901 in Bussum, North Holland. His father, Gijsbert Willem Goedhart, was a Protestant vicar. His mother was Francina Dingena Helena van Heuven. Van Heuven Goedhart was initially called Goedhart, but in 1933 he received permission to add his mother's maiden name to his surname. Van Heuven Goedhart studied law at Leiden University and graduated in 1926. The year before, he had already become a reporter for newspaper '' De Telegraaf''. On 1 January 1930, at the age of 28, he was promoted to editor in chief. He was fired on 1 June 1933 because he refused to publish an article that called ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Erik Hazelhoff Roelfzema
Siebren Erik Hazelhoff Roelfzema (3 April 1917 – 26 September 2007) was a Dutch writer who became a resistance fighter and RAF pilot during the Second World War. Near the end of the war he was adjudant (assistant) to Queen Wilhelmina. He was made Knight 4th class of the Military William Order. He is perhaps best known for his book (Soldier of Orange) which described his experiences in the war. His book was later made into a film. The book and the film about it eventually were made into the most successful Dutch musical ever, premiering 30 October 2010. Early life Roelfzema was born in the former Dutch East Indies in Surabaya, on Java, when it was under colonial rule. He was from a patrician family, which is listed in the . He was the second child of Siebren Erik Hazelhoff Roelfzema and his wife Cornelia Vreede. His older sister, Ellen, had been born two years before. His father managed rubber and coffee plantations. In the 1930s the family returned to the Netherlands so th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jaap Burger
Jacobus Albertus Wilhelmus "Jaap" Burger (20 August 1904 – 19 August 1986) was a Dutch politician of the Social Democratic Workers' Party (Netherlands), Social Democratic Workers' Party (SDAP) and later co-founder of the Labour Party (Netherlands), Labour Party (PvdA) and jurist. He was granted the honorary title of Minister of State (Netherlands), Minister of State on 4 January 1975. Early life and education Burger attended a Gymnasium (school), Gymnasium in Rotterdam from April 1917 until May 1923 and applied at the University of Amsterdam in July 1923 Major (academic), majoring in Law and obtaining an Bachelor of Laws degree in June 1925 before graduating with an Master of Laws degree in July 1929. Burger worked as a lawyer in Dordrecht from October 1929 until December 1942. On 10 May 1940 Nazi Germany Battle of the Netherlands, invaded the Netherlands and the Dutch government-in-exile, government fled to London to escape the Netherlands in World War II, German occupation. B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bodo Sandberg
Lt. Colonel Jhr. Bodo Sandberg (September 23, 1914 - May 2, 2005) was a fighter pilot in the Royal Netherlands Air Force and 'Engelandvaarder' during World War II. He was awarded the Cross of Merit and the Airman's Cross for his bravery during the German invasion of May 1940. Sandberg died on May 2, 2005 in Bentveld, Netherlands. Biography Bodo Sandberg was born in Rotterdam on September 23, 1914. From early childhood he wanted to fly so much that, at the age of 16, he built his own airplane. He had no money for an engine so he built himself a glider. When he finished it, a friendly pilot in an old bi-plane on a local airfield pulled him up in the air and he flew. In those early days you couldn't just become a pilot. If you wanted to fly you had to join the Air Force. And so he did. On August 26, 1939, Sandberg made history in Dutch aviation: he made the first successful belly landing. On May 13, 1940, three days after the Germans had invaded the Netherlands, Sandberg was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aart Alblas
Aart Hendrik Alblas, aka Klaas de Waard (20 September 1918, in Middelharnis – 7 September 1944, in Mauthausen concentration camp), was a Dutch navy officer, resistance member and Engelandvaarder. He participated in several resistance operations and is one of the most highly decorated Dutch resistance members. From 1940, Alblas collected information, often with John A. Idema. On the night of 18/19 March 1941, Alblas, with A.M. Westerhout, dressed in stolen German uniforms, travelled by motor boat to England to deliver the collection of information. For this exploit he received the Bronze Cross. Alblas was eventually captured and subsequently executed at Mauthausen concentration camp on 7 September 1944. Awards and decorations In recognition of his actions, he was posthumously made a Knight 4th class in the Military William Order. He also received the Bronze Lion, the War Commemorative Cross and the Resistance Commemorative Cross. One of the sixteen minesweepers A minesw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cross Of Merit (Netherlands)
On 20 February 1941, the Dutch government in exile in London instituted several new awards for bravery. The new way that wars were fought, with civilian resistance and the merchant navy in great peril, made this necessary. Amongst the new decorations was the "Cross of Merit", ( nl, Kruis van Verdienste) an award for "working in the interest of the Netherlands while faced with enemy actions and distinguishing oneself through valor and resolute behavior". One did not have to be on the front line to win this award. The cross has often been awarded to those who managed to flee to England and to the armed resistance. It was rarely awarded after the Korean War, but since the fighting of the Netherlands army in Afghanistan, Uruzgan, this World War II decoration has been awarded again on a regular basis with the latest on 7 October 2009 to eleven Dutch soldiers. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
