Machiel van den Heuvel (7 May 1900,

Haarlemmermeer Haarlemmermeer () is a municipality in the west of the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Haarlemmermeer is a polder, consisting of land reclaimed from water. The name Haarlemmermeer means ' Haarlem's lake', referring to the body of w ...

– 29 June 1946, near

Bandung Bandung ( su, ᮘᮔ᮪ᮓᮥᮀ, Bandung, ; ) is the capital city of the Indonesian province of West Java. It has a population of 2,452,943 within its city limits according to the official estimates as at mid 2021, making it the fourth most ...

) was a Dutch army officer. As a prisoner-of-war in

Oflag IV-C Oflag IV-C, often referred to by its location at Colditz Castle, overlooking Colditz, Saxony, was one of the most noted German Army prisoner-of-war camps for captured enemy officers during World War II; ''Oflag'' is a shortening of ''Offiziersla ...

at Colditz Castle, Germany, during World War II, he served as Escape Officer for the Dutch

POW A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war ...

s, a role also held by Captain

Pat Reid Patrick Robert Reid, (13 November 1910 – 22 May 1990) was a British Army officer and author of history. As a British prisoner of war during the Second World War, he was held captive at Colditz Castle when it was designated Oflag IV-C. Reid wa ...

, the author of ''

The Colditz Story ''The Colditz Story'' is a 1955 British prisoner of war film starring John Mills and Eric Portman and directed by Guy Hamilton. It is based on the 1952 memoir written by Pat Reid, a British army officer who was imprisoned in Oflag IV-C, Colditz ...

'', for the British. Van den Heuvel played a key role in most Dutch officer escapes (such as

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 wa ...

Francis Steinmetz Francis Steinmetz (20 September 1914 – 2 January 2006) was an officer in the Royal Netherlands Navy who escaped from Oflag IV-C, Colditz Castle, a German POW camp, during World War II, making a "home run" to safety. Early life Steinmetz was b ...

and

Anthony Luteyn Abraham Pierre Tony Luteyn (10 February 1917 – 9 February 2003) was a Dutch officer who successfully escaped from the German prisoner of war camp of Colditz. Sometimes he is referred to as Anthony Luteyn. Start of World War II Luteyn was born ...

) during the war.

POW

Machiel ("Jim") van den Heuvel, known as "Vandy" by the British POW's, was a captain in the

Royal Netherlands East Indies Army The Royal Netherlands East Indies Army ( nl, Koninklijk Nederlands Indisch Leger; KNIL, ) was the military force maintained by the Kingdom of the Netherlands in its colony of the Dutch East Indies, in areas that are now part of Indonesia. The ...

(

KNIL The Royal Netherlands East Indies Army ( nl, Koninklijk Nederlands Indisch Leger; KNIL, ) was the military force maintained by the Kingdom of the Netherlands in its colony of the Dutch East Indies, in areas that are now part of Indonesia. The ...

) who happened to be in the Netherlands at the outbreak of World War II in May 1940. After the Dutch capitulation he refused to give his word of honour not to harm German interests and was sent to a German POW camp. Here van den Heuvel was quickly appointed Escape Officer. Together with Lieutenant Gerrit Dames the two KNIL officers were a main factor for most Dutch escape successes during the war. He discovered the escape route in the park where two men could be hidden in a manhole, Lieutenants

, Lt.

Oscar Drijber Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology), ...

and Major Cornelis Giebel escaped using this route. Vandy worked together with the other Escape Officers. In June 1943 all Dutch officers at Colditz were transferred to

Stalag In Germany, stalag (; ) was a term used for prisoner-of-war camps. Stalag is a contraction of "Stammlager", itself short for ''Kriegsgefangenen-Mannschaftsstammlager'', a literal translation of which is "War-prisoner" (i.e. POW) "enlisted" "ma ...

371 in

Stanislau Ivano-Frankivsk ( uk, Іва́но-Франкі́вськ, translit=Iváno-Frankívśk ), formerly Stanyslaviv ( pl, Stanisławów ; german: Stanislau), is a city located in Western Ukraine. It is the administrative centre of Ivano-Frankivsk Obl ...

to join other Dutch officer POW's. Vandy also claimed many more escapes from this camp. Finally Vandy was transferred to

Oflag VII-D Oflag VII-D was a World War II German prisoner-of-war camp for officers (''Offizierlager'') located in Tittmoning Castle in south-eastern Bavaria. Camp history The camp was opened as Oflag VII-D in February 1941, but in November 1941 became a sub- ...

at Tittmoning where the Germans thought he could do no more harm because most prisoners were older generals. From Tittmoning Vandy helped

Giles Romilly Giles Samuel Bertram Romilly (19 September 1916 – 2 August 1967) was a communist journalist, Second World War POW, brother of Esmond Romilly, and nephew of Winston Churchill through his wife Clementine Churchill. Romilly was educated at Well ...

escape. Romilly was a prominent prisoner in Colditz because he was

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

's nephew.

After the war

After the war, Machiel van den Heuvel was made a major and sent to Java, Indonesia to fight in the

Indonesian war of independence The Indonesian National Revolution, or the Indonesian War of Independence, was an armed conflict and diplomatic struggle between the Republic of Indonesia and the Dutch Empire and an internal social revolution during postwar and postcoloni ...

. He was a battalion commander when he was killed in action at Padalarang, Java, on 29 June 1946. He had been awarded the Bronze Cross for his actions.

On film

In the film ''

'' (1955), directed by

Guy Hamilton Mervyn Ian Guy Hamilton, DSC (16 September 1922 – 20 April 2016) was an English film director. He directed 22 films from the 1950s to the 1980s, including four James Bond films. Early life Hamilton was born in Paris on 16 September 1922, wh ...

, the role of Vandy was played by actor

Theodore Bikel Theodore Meir Bikel ( ; May 2, 1924 – July 21, 2015) was an Austrian-American actor, folk singer, musician, composer, unionist, and political activist. He appeared in films, including '' The African Queen'' (1951), ''Moulin Rouge'' (1952), ' ...

References

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External links

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Heuvel, Machiel van den 1900 births 1946 deaths Royal Netherlands East Indies Army officers Royal Netherlands East Indies Army personnel of World War II Prisoners of war held at Colditz Castle Dutch escapees Escapees from German detention Dutch prisoners of war in World War II People from Haarlemmermeer Dutch military personnel killed in action Dutch people of the Indonesian National Revolution

POW

After the war

On film

See also

References

External links