The First Dutch Resistance Movement in WW2: The Geuzen
Introduction
After the surrender in May 1940, most Dutch citizens aimed to maintain their normal way of life amidst German control. This involved cooperating with the occupiers to prevent increased interference in the government and economy. While the authorities initially urged the population to obey and avoid resistance, some individuals immediately opposed the German occupiers. On 14 May 1940, the first Dutch resistance group, ‘De Geuzen’ (The Beggars), was established in Vlaardingen.
Leader of The Geuzen, Bernardus IJzerdraat
Foundation and actions
One of the people to immediately turn away from the German occupier was Bernardus IJzerdraat. IJzerdraat was a resident of Rotterdam and worked as a teacher in the vicinity of Rotterdam. The results of the 14 May 1940 bombing of Rotterdam made such a profound impression on him that he decided to resist. He foresaw “a new Alva soon, with blood council and inquisition”. In line with this comparison with the Eighty Years' War, he named his resistance 'Geuzenactie' (Beggars' action).
IJzerdraat aimed to form a Geuzen army by spreading his message through chain letters. Although his initial message was lost, subsequent messages informed the readers about the occupation’s impact and predicted further restrictions. Jan Kijne, an ally of IJzerdraat, joined forces to sabotage German activities and gather information to pass on to England, where the Dutch government had fled to. They enlisted the help of Ary Kop and formed resistance armies in various cities such as Rotterdam, Maassluis, Delft, Zwijndrecht, and Dordrecht.
The Geuzen primarily focused on sabotage and gathering intelligence, including information about German troops, headquarters, and ships in the Port of Rotterdam. They also compiled lists of NSB members (Dutch Nazi collaborators) and “moffenmeiden” (Dutch girls involved with Germans). While their initial acts of sabotage were on a small scale, the Geuzen hoped to expand their resistance group through chain letters.
Visiting Bernardus IJzerdraat's grave at Ereveld Loenen Netherlands
Betrayal
Fate soon caught up with the Geuzen when Daan van Striep, a young man from Arnhem, obtained an issue of ‘De Geus van 1940’ in November 1940. He shared this with his colleague Johannes Smit, who reported it to the Germans. Van Striep and Smit were both arrested, and Smit revealed information during interrogations.
The Germans quickly arrested other Geuzen members due to their lack of secrecy and inability to warn each other. Ary Kop’s home was searched, resulting in his arrest along with his wife. The Geuzen were imprisoned in Vlaardingen and later transferred to the ‘Oranjehotel’ in Scheveningen (see next blog), where they were interrogated and tortured. Jacobus Boezeman, a Geus from Maassluis, died from torture injuries. Ary Kop was also tortured but managed to communicate with his wife through secret notes.
Trial and Execution
The trial against the Geuzen began on 24 February 1941. During this time, an additional 42 arrests took place, and Abraham Fernandes, a Surinamese Jew, died from torture in prison. 18 members, including IJzerdraat and Kop, were sentenced to death. On 13 March 1941, they were executed by firing squad at the Waalsdorpervlakte, close to The Hague.
It was the first mass execution in the Netherlands. The fusilladed men were buried at the Waalsdorpervlakte by the occupier. It is known that the 18 resistance fighters sang Psalm 43:4 while standing before the firing squad.
“Then I will go to the altar of God,
To God my exceeding joy;
And on the harp I will praise You
O God, my God.”
Another 157 Geuzen were held captive in the Oranjehotel, and many were later sent to concentration camps. Only a few survived the imprisonment.
Bernardus IJzerdraat’s grave at Ereveld Loenen
The Song of the 18 Dead
As a result of the executions, resistance fighter Jan Campert wrote ‘het lied der achttien dooden’ (‘the song of the eighteen dead’). The song of seven stanzas appeared in 1943, when it was illegally published. Campert had then already died in the Neuengamme concentration camp. He was arrested for helping Jewish refugees. The first stanza of 'het lied der achttien dooden' goes:
A cell two metres long for me
But not two metres wide,
That plot of earth will smaller be
Whose whereabouts they hide;
But there unknown my rest I’ll take,
My comrades with me slain,
Eighteen strong men saw morning break -
We’ll see no dawn again.
Posthumously
After the war, the graves at the Waalsdorpervlakte were opened, and the remains were reburied with honor. Several Geuzen members were buried in different locations across the Netherlands. Memorials, monuments, and ceremonies were established in remembrance of the Geuzen and their resistance efforts. The Stichting Geuzenverzet (Beggars’ Resistance Foundation) was founded to preserve and promote democracy and honor those who fought against dictatorship, discrimination, and racism.
Geuzenverzet monument and memorial stone
The Geuzen Resistance and The Crystal Butterfly
Like IJzerdraat, the heroine of The Crystal Butterfly, Edda Van der Valk, is also profoundly shaken by the bombing of Rotterdam and starts her war diaries. She finds the Geuzen pamphlets in her letterbox because her neighbor “Tante Riet” has a nephew in the resistance group. This way Edda follows them from the start and is horrified when she hears of their executions. This is what she writes in her diary. For privacy reasons I’ve changed IJzerdraat’s first name.
13 March 1941
Hendrik IJzerdraat is dead. Murdered by the ironfisted Germans. Together with fifteen other Geuzen. And three men involved in the February Strike. The eighteen men were taken from the Oranje Hotel to the Waasdorpervlakte and shot at point blank in the dunes.
Why? For Heaven’s sake, why?
What did these men do other than forewarn us against the Nazi occupation? They told the Dutch to mistrust Hitler’s ideology and paid for that warning with their lives. It is blatantly clear what the Germans want. Every Dutch inhabitant must dance to their tunes or can get the bullet.
The Geuzen never even touched so much as the sleeve of one German. Oh, the Dutch are enraged. But the pressure is on. The Germans must have believed the Dutch to be much more pliable. Well, we arent’t. But, oh dear God, I fear for what’s next. Neither side will go down without a fight and the Germans have the weapons, the power, and the infrastructure to squash us completely. And they’re getting anxious. The war in North Africa doesn’t seem to go well for them.
I will just write down what I can glean from the papers. It makes me feel more like a correspondent than a resistance fighter. I would never have the guts to openly resist. And with my family rubbing up against Hitler and Mussert, it would be idiocy on my behalf.
But still! Herr Hitler and Meneer Mussert, I’ll do my part. I swear by my Queen and country that I will not lie down and die for you if I can help it.
Geuzen Monument Market Vlaardingen
“Resistance against the enemy always takes place at the right time”
The bronze sculpture depicts a human figure, walking with determination, doubt, and trepidation, knowing his mission is to carry this message to the future. One hand raised in warning, while the other fisted hand protects his own body as he defends himself against the enemy.
At a short distance two severed feet symbolizing life that was ended abruptly.
