Bernardus IJzerdraat (1891 – 13 March 1941) was a Dutch resistance fighter in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. A tapestry restorer from

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

, he became involved as early as 1936 in the ''Eenheid door Democratie'' movement which opposed

Fascism Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hie ...

and

Communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...

. Immediately after the bombing of Rotterdam during the German invasion in 1940, he set up the first Dutch resistance group, ''De Geuzen'' "The Beggars", and published the ''Geuzenbericht'', a resistance pamphlet, on 15 May, the day after the bombing of Rotterdam. He was arrested together with other members of his group when the Germans discovered a list of names and addresses at his home. After a show trial, he was shot at

Scheveningen Scheveningen () is one of the eight districts of The Hague, Netherlands, as well as a subdistrict () of that city. Scheveningen is a modern seaside resort with a long, sandy beach, an esplanade, a pier, and a lighthouse. The beach is popular ...

on 13 March 1941 together with 17 others, including three Communists involved in the February Strike. Bernard IJzerdraat's gravestone in Loenen Field of Honour He was posthumously awarded the Resistance Cross which his widow received in 1955. IJzerdraat was buried at the

National Cemetery of Honours Loenen is a village in the Dutch province of Gelderland. It is located in the municipality of Apeldoorn, about 10 km southeast of that city. Loenen was a separate municipality until 1818, when it was merged with Apeldoorn. National Cemete ...

Loenen Loenen () is a former municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht. It was in the '' Vechtstreek'' area. On January 1, 2011, Loenen merged with Breukelen and Maarssen to form Stichtse Vecht. Population centres The former munic ...

References

External links

Bernardus IJzerdraat from the Dutch National Archives
Retrieved 13 April 2008. {{DEFAULTSORT:IJzerdraat, Bernardus 1891 births 1941 deaths Resistance members from Rotterdam Recipients of the Dutch Cross of Resistance Dutch anti-communists Dutch people executed by Nazi Germany Resistance members killed by Nazi Germany People executed by Nazi Germany by firearm Deaths by firearm in the Netherlands