Truus Menger-Oversteegen (

Schoten Schoten () is a municipality located in Antwerp Province, Belgium. The municipality only comprises the town of Schoten proper. As of 1 January 2020 Schoten has a total population of 34,311. The total area is which gives a population density of ...

, 29 August 1923 –

Grootebroek Grootebroek is a town in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is located in the municipality of Stede Broec. Grootebroek was a separate municipality until 1979. The town is called Grootebroek after a large swamp in the area; in Dutch, "groote ...

, 18 June 2016) was a Dutch sculptor and painter. During the

Second World War 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 opposin ...

she was a member of the anti-

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

Dutch

Resistance Resistance may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Comics * Either of two similarly named but otherwise unrelated comic book series, both published by Wildstorm: ** ''Resistance'' (comics), based on the video game of the same title ** ''T ...

, together with her sister,

Freddie Oversteegen Freddie Nanda Dekker-Oversteegen (6 September 1925 – 5 September 2018) was a Dutch resistance member during the occupation of the Netherlands in World War II. Early life Freddie Oversteegen was born 6 September 1925 in the village of Schoten ...

, and

Hannie Schaft Jannetje Johanna (Jo) Schaft (16 September 1920 – 17 April 1945) was a Dutch resistance fighter during World War II. She became known as "the girl with the red hair" ( nl, text=het meisje met het rode haar, german: text=das Mädchen mit d ...

. Schaft and Truus Oversteegen were planning to liquidate policeman and NSB member Fake Krist on 25 October 1944, but other

Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English) is a city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland. Haarlem is situated at the northern edge of the Randstad, one of the most populated metropoli ...

Resistance fighters killed him first. On 1 March 1945, NSB police officer Willem Zirkzee was executed by Schaft and Truus Oversteegen near the Krelagehuis on the Leidsevaart in Haarlem. On 15 March, they wounded Ko Langendijk, who worked for the Sicherheitsdienst (SD). He survived the attack and, in 1948, testified in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

on behalf of his Velser girlfriend, the traitor Nelly Willy van der Meijden. In 1949, he was sentenced to life imprisonment. An earlier attempt on Langendijk by Jan Bonekamp had also failed. Schaft and Oversteegen tried in vain to free Jan Bonekamp when he was arrested by the Germans and taken to the Wilhelmina Gasthuis in Amsterdam. After Schaft was arrested on 21 March 1945, the Resistance assumed that she had been imprisoned at the Weteringschans. Disguised as a German nurse, Oversteegen tried to free her with a story that she had to take Schaft for medical examination. She cried a lot to convince the people there. Schaft, however, turned out to have been on the Amstelveenseweg and had already been executed. After the war, Truus married Piet Menger in November 1945. The couple had four children, the oldest of whom she named in remembrance of Schaft. She was regularly a guest speaker at universities and secondary schools about wars,

antisemitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

, tolerance and indifference. Menger-Oversteegen's book about her experiences during the war, ''Not then, Not now, Not ever'', was published in 1982. On 10 May 1967,

Yad Vashem Yad Vashem ( he, יָד וַשֵׁם; literally, "a memorial and a name") is Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; honoring Jews who fought against th ...

recognized her as Righteous Among the Nations. At her 75th birthday in 1998, Menger was invested as an Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau for her services. On 15 April 2014, Truus Menger-Oversteegen received the Mobilization War Cross with her sister from Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Menger-Oversteegen, Truus Dutch resistance members 1923 births 2016 deaths Female resistance members of World War II Dutch communists Officers of the Order of Orange-Nassau Dutch Righteous Among the Nations