Henriette Nanette "Jetty" Paerl (27 May 1921 – 22 August 2013) was a Dutch singer and resistance member of

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

origin. She is known for being one of the Netherlands' representatives in the Eurovision Song Contest 1956 with the song " De vogels van Holland", and for being the first singer ever to perform in the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...

Biography

Early life

Paerl was born and raised in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

. After the German invasion of the Netherlands in May 1940, she fled to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

with her parents and swimmer Willy den Ouden, where she worked as a

children's clothing Children's clothing or kids' clothing is clothing for children who have not yet grown to full height. Children's clothing is often more casual clothing, casual than adult clothing, fit for Play (activity), play and rest. In the early 21st centu ...

designer at a shop in New Bond Street. She also contributed to the broadcasts of '' Radio Oranje'', a radio programme created by the Dutch government-in-exile, due to which she became known as ''Jetje van Radio Oranje'' ("Jetty of Radio Orange") in the Netherlands. In the programme, she performed songs – written by her father Jo Paerl and composed by Louis Davids and Dirk Witte – in which the

Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

and members of the National Socialist Movement (NSB) were openly made fun of. Towards the end of the war, Paerl became a member of the Women's Auxiliary Corps (''Vrouwen Hulpkorps'') of the Royal Netherlands Army. After the liberation of the Netherlands in May 1945, she returned to her home country via

Zeeland Zeeland (; ), historically known in English by the Endonym and exonym, exonym Zealand, is the westernmost and least populous province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the southwest of the country, borders North Brabant to the east ...

and was stationed in

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 ...

. Shortly after, she learned that both her elder brothers were still alive. One had fled to

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, while the other had stayed in the Netherlands during the war.

After the war

In 1951, Paerl married Dutch illustrator Cees Bantzinger. In 1956, she finished in second place in the '' Nationaal Songfestival 1956'' with the song " De vogels van Holland", written by Annie M.G. Schmidt and composed by Cor Lemaire. This gave her the right, with

Corry Brokken Cornelia Maria "Corry" Brokken (3 December 1932 – 31 May 2016) was a Dutch singer, television presenter and jurist. In 1957, she won the second edition of the Eurovision Song Contest with the song " Net als toen", representing the Netherlands ...

, to represent the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

in the first edition of the

. Being the first performer of the evening, Paerl wrote history as the first singer ever to perform in the Eurovision Song Contest. In 1985, Paerl's husband revealed that he had been a member of the NSB for a short period of time in the beginning of

World War II 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 ...

, after journalist Adriaan Venema had confronted him with letters he had sent to the Department of Public Information and the Arts at the time. One week later, Bantzinger committed suicide by drowning. Paerl herself died on 22 August 2013 in

Amstelveen Amstelveen () is a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland, Netherlands, with a population of 95,996 as of 202 ...

, at the age of 92.

Discography

EPs

* ''Jetty Paerl'' – 1957 * ''Jetty Paerl 2'' – 1957

Albums

* ''Jetje van Radio Oranje'' – 1970 ( LP), 1995 ( CD)

Trivia

* Paerl appears in episode 18 of the British documentary series '' The World at War'' (1973–74).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Paerl, Jetty 1921 births 2013 deaths Dutch women singers Singers from Amsterdam Jewish Dutch musicians Dutch resistance members 20th-century Dutch women Royal Netherlands Army personnel of World War II Eurovision Song Contest entrants