Allard Lambertus Oosterhuis (19 July 1902, in

Delfzijl Delfzijl (; gos, Delfsiel) is a city and former municipality with a population of 25,651 in the province of Groningen in the northeast of the Netherlands. Delfzijl was a sluice between the Delf and the Ems, which became fortified settlement in ...

– 1 January 1967, in

Killiney Killiney () is an affluent seaside resort and suburb in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Ireland. It lies south of neighbouring Dalkey, east of Ballybrack and Sallynoggin and north of Shankill. The place grew around the 11th century Killiney Churc ...

) was a Dutch resistance hero during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. In 1922, Oosterhuis went to

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

to study medicine and after his study he became a doctor in

. Thanks to his work as a cruiser, with his ships ''Cascade'' and ''Libelle,'' he was able to put up a smuggling route for the resistance between the harbour of Delfzijl and Stockholm. An important colleague of his in the Dutch resistance was the coaster-captain Harry Roossien who made many trips during the war. Due to these activities many people and materials left occupied

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, and radio transmitters, photos from the Dutch Queen and money for the resistance were shipped into the country. Oosterhuis was the leader of the resistance group 't Zwaantje (The Swan) from Delfzijl. The name comes from a pub named ''De witte Zwaan'' (The White Swan]) which Oosterhuis regular visited. He used the name ''Zwaantje'' as a codename in the illegal documentation he sent to the resistance and the allies. On 12 July 1943 the German ''

Sicherheitsdienst ' (, ''Security Service''), full title ' (Security Service of the '' Reichsführer-SS''), or SD, was the intelligence agency of the SS and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. Established in 1931, the SD was the first Nazi intelligence organization ...

'' rolled up the resistance group after they were betrayed. Despite a collective death sentence on 23 June 1944, most of the members survived the war in captivity in German warcamps. They were liberated in autumn 1945. After the war, Oosterhuis, due to health reasons, quit his profession as a doctor and became a cruiser with his ship ''MS Stientje Mensinga,'' a rebuilt landing vehicle from 1943. The ship sunk during a heavy storm on the Irish coast by Erritshead in 1961. In 1952, he settled permanently in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

and received the Bronze Cross for bravery against the occupier during World War II. He died age 64 in Ireland and was buried in Delfzijl. In 1970, a resistance monument named 't Zwaantje' was revealed in Delfzijl.

Literature

* De verzetsgroep Zwaantje; oorlogsbelevenissen van dr. Allard Oosterhuis. Verteld door J.Klatter, uitgeverij N.V. Het Parool, Amsterdam 1968.

External links

Artikel over het Verzetsmonument "Het Zwaantje" ter nagedachtenis aan Oosterhuis en collega's.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oosterhuis 1902 births 1967 deaths Dutch resistance members People from Delfzijl