Speech at the commemoration of 2 October 1944

As we do every year, today we are commemorating the events of 2 October 1944. That was exactly 80 years ago. That seems like a long time, especially if you’re only 10 or 12 years old now. But I know plenty of people who are 85, 90 and even 100 years old. To them, it often doesn’t feel that long ago at all. They usually still remember a great deal about the war. And if they went through difficult times back then, they are often still troubled by those memories today.

In a moment we’ll be going to the memorial bearing the names of the eight men who were shot here by the Germans on 2 October 1944. Next to that monument there is also a glass plaque bearing the name of Mrs Bitter. She was not shot on 2 October, but was taken to Ravensbrück concentration camp, where she died not long afterwards.

Six of the eight men whose names we are about to read were members of an Apeldoorn-based resistance group, the Vrije Groep Narda. The other two men were a British and an American pilot, who had been rescued by the resistance group. They were in hiding at Mrs Bitter’s house.

The leader of the resistance group was Meinarda van Terwisga, a young woman from Apeldoorn.  Under her leadership, they helped Jews find places to go into hiding, and assisted Allied soldiers who had crashed in their aircraft or parachuted down. They also provided all these people with food ration cards and forged identity cards. In short, it was very dangerous work.

At the end of September 1944, things went wrong. It turned out there was a traitor in the group, and the Narda Free Group fell into a trap. Some managed to escape, but Meinarda, six men from her group, the two pilots and Mrs Bitter were arrested. The two women were sent to Ravensbrück concentration camp, whilst the eight men were murdered without mercy.

And as if that weren’t horrific enough, the bodies of the eight men were laid out on streets, squares and crossroads throughout Apeldoorn. Around their necks were signs reading: ‘Terrorist’. This was the Germans’ way of taking revenge and issuing a warning.

Meinarda van Terwisga survived Ravensbrück concentration camp and returned to Apeldoorn. She was awarded a high British honour for her assistance to Allied soldiers. In the Netherlands, Meinarda was awarded the Bronze Lion, the Resistance Commemoration Cross and the badge of the Internal Forces.

She received words of thanks and certificates from international leaders, such as US President Eisenhower. And she was on good terms with Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, the great-grandmother of our King Willem-Alexander.

So she did receive recognition. And yet. Meinarda van Terwisga, our great heroine, died alone and disillusioned, at her home in Apeldoorn, in May 1997. Because, as I said at the start, some people continue to be haunted by the terrible events of the war for a long time afterwards – and that was certainly true of Meinarda.

She continued to feel guilty for the rest of her life. Because she had survived and ‘her boys’, as she continued to call them, had not. She blamed herself for not realising that there was a traitor in her group.

After the war, she dedicated herself to helping Jews who had survived the war. She helped them using her own money, because she felt the government was not doing enough for these people. And that, too, made her bitter. And she was also somewhat forgotten. In Apeldoorn, a street has been named after her, and she is commemorated on the monument in the Verzetsstrijderspark. But her name is not listed on the monument we are about to visit.

On the one hand, that is understandable. After all, that memorial is for those who were murdered on 2 October 1944. And Meinarda van Terwisga survived the war. However, she was the leader of this resistance group.

And that is why we will soon be placing a glass plaque next to the monument in honour of Meinarda van Terwisga, bearing her name and explaining who she was. So that she will be remembered by name at the next commemoration.

You’ve seen that filming is taking place today. The NOS is making a documentary about Meinarda van Terwisga, in collaboration with a resident of Apeldoorn, Mrs Kingma, who has researched the life of this resistance heroine. It will be broadcast on television in January and will tell her life story in detail.

At the start of my story, I said: “Eighty years seems like a long time ago”. But new stories from the Second World War are still coming to light. It remains important to listen to those stories. Because they tell us something about good and evil. About fear, about doubt, about courage and about the choices people make. So that we can reflect on our own thoughts: What do I think? What would I do? That is why today we are telling the story of Meinarda van Terwisga. A remarkable, brave young woman from Apeldoorn. Who risked her life for others. Driven by the conviction that all people were equal.

I don’t know if I’d dare to do what she did. Because it takes a great deal of courage. That’s why it’s all the more sad that the war affected her for her whole life. And that’s why it’s right that we should remember her today, too. And that we should say: thank you, Meinarda van Terwisga. We’ll always remember you.

Thank you all very much.