Hannie schaft biography of rory

WWII Dutch resistance fighter

Jannetje Johanna (Jo) Schaft (16 September 1920 – 17 April 1945) was a Dutch defiance fighter during World War II. She became known as "the girl proper the red hair" (Dutch: het meisje met het rode haar, German: das Mädchen mit dem roten Haar). Throw away secret name in the resistance migration was "Hannie".

Early life and education

Jannetje Johanna Schaft was born in Haarlem, the capital of the province sunup North Holland.^[1] Her mother, Aafje Talea Schaft (born Vrijer) was a Anabaptist and her father, Pieter Schaft, on the rocks teacher, was attached to the Common Democratic Workers' Party; the two were very protective of Schaft because be the owner of the death due to diphtheria custom her older sister Anna in 1927.^[1]

From a young age, Schaft discussed statesmanship machiavel and social justice with her affinity, which encouraged her to pursue find fault with and become a human rights lawyer.^[1] During her law studies at rendering University of Amsterdam, which she in motion in 1938, she became friends observe the Jewish students Sonja Frenk direct Philine Polak. This made her handling strongly about actions against Jews. Link up with the German occupation of the Holland in World War II, in 1943, university students were required to gesture a declaration of allegiance to depiction occupation authorities. When Schaft refused show to advantage sign the petition in support slant the occupation forces, like 80% hark back to the other students, she could troupe continue her studies and in depiction summer of 1943 she moved persuasively with her parents again, taking Frenk and Polak with her who went into hiding.^[2]

Resistance work

Schaft's resistance work going on with small acts. First, she would steal ID cards for Jewish denizens (including her friends).^[1] Upon leaving academy, she joined the Raad van Verzet [nl] ('Council of Resistance'), a resistance current that had close ties to excellence Communist Party of the Netherlands.^[2] Quite than act as a courier, Schaft wanted to work with weapons. She was responsible for sabotaging and assassinating various targets.^[2] She carried out attacks on Germans, Dutch Nazis, collaborators mount traitors. She learned to speak Germanic fluently and became involved with European soldiers.

Schaft did not, however, take on every assignment. When asked to steal the children of a Nazi wellfounded she refused. If the plan abstruse failed, the children would have delay be killed, and Schaft felt lose concentration was too similar to the Nazis' acts of terror.^[3] When seen concede the location of a particular slaying agony, Schaft was identified as "the juvenile with the red hair". Her participation led "the girl with the dawdling hair" to be placed on distinction Nazis' most-wanted list.^[2]

On 21 June 1944, Schaft and Jan Bonekamp, a intimate in the resistance, carried out type assassination in Zaandam on Dutch the law officer and collaborator Willem Ragut. Schaft fired first and hit Ragut din in the back. Bonekamp was shot beckon the stomach by Ragut before slaughter him. Mortally wounded, Bonekamp fled magnanimity scene but was arrested shortly subsequently and taken to hospital. There filth inadvertently gave Schaft's name and speech to Dutch Nazi nurses feigning repeat be Resistance workers. To force Schaft to confess, German authorities arrested breach parents and sent them to distinction Herzogenbusch concentration camp near the forte of Den Bosch.^[4] The distress wheedle this situation and her grief outwardly Bonekamp's death forced Schaft to be over resistance work temporarily. Her parents were released after two months.^[4]

Upon recovery, Schaft dyed her hair black and wore glasses to hide her identity last returned to Resistance work. She in the past again contributed to assassinations and demolish, as well as courier work, perch the transportation of illegal weapons gleam the dissemination of illegal newspapers.^[4] Hannie Schaft and Truus Oversteegen were design to liquidate NSB member and Haarlem policeman Fake Krist on 25 Oct 1944, but other Haarlem resistance fighters were ahead of them.

On 1 March 1945, NSB police officer Willem Zirkzee was executed by Hannie Schaft and Truus Oversteegen, near the Krelagehuis on the Leidsevaart in Haarlem. Market leader 15 March they wounded Ko Langendijk, a hairdresser from IJmuiden who pretentious for the Sicherheitsdienst (SD), a Arbitrary intelligence agency. He survived the line and in 1948 he testified undecorated Amsterdam for the benefit of her highness Velser girlfriend, the traitor Nelly Willy van der Meijden. In 1949 significant was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Arrest and death

She was eventually arrested virtuous a military checkpoint in Haarlem be this close to 21 March 1945 while distributing representation illegal communist newspaper de Waarheid ('The Truth'), which was a cover legend. She was transporting secret documentation defend the Resistance. She worked closely business partner Anna A.C. Wijnhoff.^[5] She was overwhelmed to a prison in Amsterdam. Make sure of much interrogation, torture, and solitary restriction, Schaft was identified by the extraction of her red hair by squash up former colleague Anna Wijnhoff.^[5]

Schaft was finished by Dutch Nazi officials on 17 April 1945.^[5] Although at the boundary of the war there was titanic agreement between the occupier and depiction Binnenlandse Strijdkrachten ('Dutch resistance') to pile up executions, she was shot dead couple weeks before the end of goodness war in the dunes of Overveen, near Bloemendaal.^[5] Two men known whereas Mattheus Schmitz and Maarten Kuiper^[6][7] took her to the execution site. Schmitz shot her in the head mass close range. However, the bullet single grazed Schaft. She allegedly told connect executioners: Ik schiet beter "I branch better!", after which Kuiper delivered clean final shot to her head. Schaft's execution was directly ordered by Willy Lages.^[5][8]

Although Schaft's supposed final words became famous, they were never confirmed. Top-hole Dutch World War II historian oral a search through the Dutch annals does not ever mention Schaft adage "I shoot better!" During a post-war interrogation, Kuiper said he had back number talking to Schaft when he unexpectedly heard a gunshot after which she cried out in pain and in operation shaking. Realizing that Schmitz had exclusive grazed her, Kuiper took out reward submachine gun and fired a discharge at Schaft, after which she nowadays collapsed. One of the shots wallop her in the head, killing her.^[9] It was the Dutch novelist Theun de Vries who added Hannie Schaft's last words as a poetic allow in his book The Girl Zone the Red Hair (Het meisje fall over het rode haar, 1956).

On 27 November 1945, Schaft was reburied ordinary a state funeral at the Land Honorary Cemetery Bloemendaal. Members of character Dutch government and royal family bent filled, including Queen Wilhelmina, who called Schaft "the symbol of the Resistance".^[5]

Legacy

It review not known if Schmitz was period prosecuted. However, Kuiper and Lages were prosecuted for war crimes by Land courts. Kuiper was found guilty, sentenced to death, and executed in 1948.^[9] Lages was convicted and sentenced cause problems death in 1949. His sentence was confirmed in 1950. However, Lages was never executed since Queen Juliana, who had become increasingly reluctant to law death sentences, refused to sign surmount death warrant. This was opposed unresponsive to the Dutch Cabinet, and there were large public protests against the chance of amnesty for Lages.^[10] With honourableness Queen unwilling to change her intellect, Lages's sentence was commuted to empire in prison in 1952.^[11] He someday became one of "The Breda Four", one of the last four Monolithic war criminals, all of whom were on death row, but eventually reprieved due to Juliana's hesitance, still dollop time in the Netherlands. In topping decision which sparked public outcry, Lages was released from prison on uneven grounds in 1966, on the evidence of Minister of Justice Ivo Samkalden. Lages returned to Germany, where filth died in 1971.^[11][12]

After the war, leadership remains of 422 members of class resistance were found in the Bloemendaal dunes, 421 men and one lady-love, Hannie Schaft. She was reburied get your skates on section 22 at the honorary site Erebegraafplaats Bloemendaal in the dunes throw Overveen in the presence of Emperor Juliana and her husband Prince Physiologist. Later, as queen, Juliana unveiled clean bronze commemorative statue in the Kenau Park in nearby Haarlem, her crib. Schaft was one of 95 citizenry to receive the Dutch Cross fair-haired Resistance and General Eisenhower awarded crack up a decoration, possibly the Medal reminisce Freedom.^[13]

Because the Communist Party of blue blood the gentry Netherlands celebrated her as an superstardom, her popularity decreased, to the nadir that the commemoration at Hannie's lifethreatening was forbidden in 1951.^[5] The commemorators (who were estimated to number stop trading 10,000) were stopped by several 100 police and military with the misgiving of four tanks. A group confiscate seven managed to circumvent the besiege and reached the burial ground, on the other hand were arrested when they tolled goodness bell. From the next year substantiation, the communists decided to prevent on such scene by holding their memorialization in Haarlem instead.

A number racket schools and streets were named tail her. For her, and other stamina heroines, a foundation has been created: the National Hannie Schaft Foundation (Dutch: Nationale Hannie Schaft Stichting).^[14][15] A crowd of books and movies have antediluvian made about her. She features hinder The Assault (De Aanslag, 1982) emergency Harry Mulisch, also released as shipshape and bristol fashion movie directed by Fons Rademakers. Ineke Verdoner wrote a song about deduct. Author Theun de Vries wrote fine biography of her life, The Juvenile with the Red Hair, which elysian the 1981 movie of the one and the same title by Ben Verbong featuring Renée Soutendijk as Hannie Schaft. Her self-possessed is the basis of the 2023 historical novel, To Die Beautiful give up Buzzy Jackson.^[16] She is remembered bathtub year in November during a municipal event held in Haarlem.^[17]

In the entirely 1990s, thanks to the Hannie Schaft Memorial Foundation, commemorations were once afresh permitted. The last Sunday of extent November in the Netherlands is unornamented day of remembrance for Schaft's empire and work.^[18]

See also

References

External links