Jean Claire Adrien Mesritz (2 March 1918 – 31 March 1945) was a Dutch Resistance Fighter 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 opposin ...

. He was the elder brother of

Denis Mesritz Denis Claire Baudouin Mesritz (The Hague, November 16, 1919 – Rathenow, March 16, 1945) was a Dutch lawyer. He studied law at the University of Groningen until 1942. Jean Mesritz was his brother. During the Second World War, Mesritz was activ ...

. Mesritz was born in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

. At the outbreak of the war, Mesritz was a student at

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince o ...

, a member of the Student Corps and a junior commissioned officer (Kornet) in the Mounted Artillery. On 13 August 1940, he tried to hijack the Scheveningen logger SCH 107 to sail to England, along with Erik Michielsen and Carel Kranenburg. This plan failed because the ship had already been requisitioned by the Germans. He then arranged to be picked up on the Tjeukemeer in Friesland by an RAF seaplane on 13 October, with Marion Smit, Hans Hers, Lodewijk van Hamel and Lourens Baas Becking. The plane was from the 320 Dutch Squadron RAF commanded by Heije Schaper. This attempt was foiled by fog. On the second attempt on 15 October, the aircraft was shelled on the water by German anti-aircraft guns. The plane managed to take off again and escape, but the resistance fighters were arrested and transferred to the detention center in Leeuwarden, and from there to the

Oranjehotel The Hague Penitentiary Institution (Dutch: ''Penitentiaire Inrichting Haaglanden'') is a Dutch prison that is part of the Judicial Institutions Department (''Dienst Justitiële Inrichtingen'', DJI) of the Ministry of Justice. It can accommodat ...

. They were tried in April 1941. Van Hamel was sentenced to death, and Hers to life. Mesritz was sentenced to three years in prison. On the day of his release he was told that he was now in protective custody, and stayed in custody until his death. On 5 June 1943, Mesritz was transferred to the

Vught concentration camp , , german: Konzentrationslager Herzogenbusch , location map = Netherlands , map alt = , map caption = Location of the camp in the Netherlands , coordinates = , known for = , location = Vught, Netherlands , built by = N ...

, where he meets Professor Cleveringa, with whom he was imprisoned in the Oranjehotel, and is able to help him a little. Eventually he ended up in

Neuengamme concentration camp Neuengamme was a network of Nazi concentration camps in Northern Germany that consisted of the main camp, Neuengamme, and more than 85 satellite camps. Established in 1938 near the village of Neuengamme in the Bergedorf district of Hamburg, th ...

where he worked in the horse stables. He died at

Neuengamme Neuengamme was a network of Nazi concentration camps in Northern Germany that consisted of the main camp, Neuengamme, and more than 85 satellite camps. Established in 1938 near the village of Neuengamme in the Bergedorf district of Hamburg, th ...

on 31 March 1945.Obituary of Jean and Denis Mesritz
from Het parool, 17-07-1945

Representation

In the film ''

Soldier of Orange ''Soldier of Orange'' ( nl, Soldaat van Oranje, ) is a 1977 Dutch romance-thriller film directed and co-written by Paul Verhoeven and produced by Rob Houwer, starring Rutger Hauer and Jeroen Krabbé. The film is set around the German occupation o ...

'', the role of Jean Mesritz is played by Huib Rooymans. The character's name is Jan Weinberg. Contrary to reality, he is shot in the film.

References

External links

Jean Adrien Claire Mesritz
at the Dutch Roll of Honour 1940-1945 {{DEFAULTSORT:Mesritz, Jean 1918 births 1945 deaths Dutch resistance members People from The Hague People who died in Neuengamme concentration camp