The Resistance Memorial Cross or Resistance Commemorative Cross () is a medal awarded in 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 ...

to members of the

Dutch resistance The Dutch resistance () to the History of the Netherlands (1939–1945), German occupation of the Netherlands during World War II can be mainly characterized as non-violent. The primary organizers were the Communist Party of the Netherlands, C ...

during 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 ...

. The medal was instituted by Royal Decree (No. 104) on 29 December 1980, after the 35th anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands. It is worn after the War Memorial Cross and before the Medal for Order and Peace. The cross is only awarded at the request of a person eligible to receive it. Approximately 15,000 have been awarded, recorded in the ''Gedenkenboek verzetsherdenkingskruis''. In 1982, the following US Army Divisions were awarded the Resistance Memorial Cross for their actions in the

.: * 2nd Armored Division * 7th Armored Division *

82nd Airborne Division The 82nd Airborne Division is an Airborne forces, airborne infantry division (military), division of the United States Army specializing in Paratrooper, parachute assault operations into hostile areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops ...

101st Airborne Division The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division (military), division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault military operation, operations. The 101st is designed to plan, coordinat ...

* 30th Infantry Division * 104th Infantry Division

Criteria

The Resistance Memorial Cross may be awarded to: *Members of resistance groups recognised in the Royal Decree dated 5 September 1944 or to any resistance group known to the Council on Extraordinary Pensions or the 1940–1945 Foundation. *Anyone recognised by the Council on Extraordinary Pension as a participant in the resistance, regardless of whether they were awarded a pension. *Individuals defined by the Law on the Improvement of the Legal Status of Resistance Fighters (law of 1/20/76, Stb. 19) adjudged as having spent time in service to the resistance. *Soldiers of the Dutch Internal Armed Forces in occupied territory. *Those who participated in actions during World War II in Japanese or Japanese-occupied territory, which after the war, were designated as resistance of the enemy by the committee. *Anyone who does not meet any preceding provisions, may still be considered a participant in the resistance in the judgement of the committee.

Appearance

The medal comprises a silver cross hung from a striped ribbon. The

obverse The obverse and reverse are the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags, seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, ''obverse'' ...

of the cross bears a vertical flaming sword, surmounted by the Dutch royal crown. Below the sword are the dates ''1940'' above ''1945''. The horizontal arms of the cross are inscribed with the words ''DE TYRANNY VERDRYVEN'' (Dutch: "to expel tyranny"), a line in the Dutch national anthem. The reverse bears a Dutch lion, and the date of institution, 1980. The cross is suspended by a ring from a ribbon coloured with asymmetric stripes: the left half is red-white-blue (for the

Dutch flag The national flag of the Netherlands () is a horizontal tricolour of red, white, and blue. The current design originates as a variant of the late 16th century orange-white-blue '' Prinsenvlag'' ("Prince's Flag"), evolving in the early 17th ...

) and the right half orange (the national color of the Netherlands) with a black border on each edge.

Notable recipients

* Aart Alblas * Willem Arondeus * Coosje Ayal * Tex Banwell * Ina Boekbinder * Titus Brandsma * Jan van Borssum Buisman * Jaap Burger * Boy Ecury * Joke Folmer * Hendrika Gerritsen * Sietje Gravendaal-Tammens * Karl Gröger * Bert Haanstra * Erik Hazelhoff Roelfzema * Cornelis Pieter van den Hoek * Adrian Hoekstra * Hans Hoets * Ernst de Jonge * Patrick Edward de Josselin de Jong * Ingeborg Kahlenberg * Pieter Koenraad * Anton de Kom * Jan de Koning * Hans de Koster * Hannie van Leeuwen *

Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld (later Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands; 29 June 1911 – 1 December 2004) was Prince consort of the Netherlands, Prince of the Netherlands from 6 September 1948 to 30 April 1980 as the husband of Queen J ...

* Caecilia Loots * George Maduro * Sicco Mansholt * Selma van de Perre * Johannes Post * Atie Ridder-Visser * Hannie Schaft * Norbert Schmelzer * Pieter Meindert Schreuder * Pierre Schunck *

Bram van der Stok Abraham Lamertus "Bram" van der Stok, (13 October 1915 – 8 February 1993), also known as Bob van der Stok, was a World War II fighter pilot and flying ace, and is the most decorated aviator in Dutch history. In March 1944, he broke out of Sta ...

* Peter Tazelaar * Christiaan Tonnet *

Marten Toonder Marten Toonder (2 May 1912 – 27 July 2005) was a Dutch comic strip creator. He was probably the most successful comic artist in the Netherlands and had a great influence on the Dutch language by introducing new words and expressions. He is most ...

* Gerrit van der Veen * Ida Veldhuyzen van Zanten * Johan Hendrik Weidner * Leonard Willmott * Petrus Wijtse Winkel *

Francien de Zeeuw Sub-lieutenant, Luitenant ter zee der 2de klasse Francien de Zeeuw (Terneuzen, 19 May 1922 – Middenbeemster, 8 September 2015) was a Dutch resistance fighter during the Second World War and the first female member of the Dutch armed forces. ...

Dutch Cross of Resistance

It should not be confused with the rarer and more prestigious

Dutch Cross of Resistance The Verzetskruis 1940–1945 (English: ''Cross of Resistance 1940–1945'') is a decoration for valour in the Netherlands. Instituted on May 3, 1946, it was awarded in recognition of the individual courage shown in resistance against the ...

(Dutch: ''Verzetskruis''), the second highest decoration for valour in the Netherlands, which was instituted in 1946 and awarded to only 95 people. There was a belief after the War that awarding medals would make distinctions between different acts of resistance, all of which would have been punishable by death. After a first round of awards were made of the Dutch Cross of Resistance in 1946, it became politically difficult to agree a list of further recipients.

References

External links

''The legacy of Nazi occupation: patriotic memory and national recovery in Western Europe, 1945-1965''
Pieter Lagrou, Cambridge University Press, 2000, {{ISBN, 0-521-65180-8, p. 74-77

tracesofwar.com
Orders, decorations, and medals of the Netherlands Awards established in 1980 Dutch resistance