Truus Menger-Oversteegen (29 August 1923 – 18 June 2016) was a

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

sculptor and painter. 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 ...

she was a member of the anti-

Nazi 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 ...

Dutch Resistance, together with her sister, Freddie Oversteegen, and

Hannie Schaft Jannetje Johanna (Jo) Schaft (16 September 1920 – 17 April 1945) was a Dutch resistance fighter during World War II. She became known as "the girl with the red hair" (, ). Her secret name in the resistance movement was "Hannie". Early ...

. Schaft and Truus Oversteegen were planning to liquidate policeman and NSB member Fake Krist on 25 October 1944, but other

Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English language, English) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the Provinces of the Nether ...

Resistance fighters killed him first. On 1 March 1945, NSB police officer Willem Zirkzee was executed by Schaft and Truus Oversteegen near the Krelagehuis on the Leidsevaart in Haarlem. On 15 March, they wounded Ko Langendijk, who worked for the Sicherheitsdienst (SD). He survived the attack and, in 1948, testified 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 ...

on behalf of his Velser girlfriend, the traitor Nelly Willy van der Meijden. In 1949, he was sentenced to life imprisonment. An earlier attempt on Langendijk by Jan Bonekamp had also failed. Schaft and Oversteegen tried in vain to free Jan Bonekamp when he was arrested by the Germans and taken to the Wilhelmina Gasthuis in Amsterdam. After Schaft was arrested on 21 March 1945, the Resistance assumed that she had been imprisoned at the Weteringschans. Disguised as a German nurse, Oversteegen tried to free her with a story that she had to take Schaft for medical examination. She cried a lot to convince the people there. Schaft, however, turned out to have been on the Amstelveenseweg and had already been executed. After the war, Truus married Piet Menger in November 1945. The couple had four children, the oldest of whom she named in remembrance of Schaft. She was regularly a guest speaker at universities and secondary schools about wars,

antisemitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

, tolerance and indifference. Menger-Oversteegen's book about her experiences during the war, ''Not then, Not now, Not ever'', was published in 1982. On 10 May 1967,

Yad Vashem Yad Vashem (; ) is Israel's official memorial institution to the victims of Holocaust, the Holocaust known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (). It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; echoing the stories of the ...

recognized her as

Righteous Among the Nations Righteous Among the Nations ( ) is a title used by Yad Vashem to describe people who, for various reasons, made an effort to assist victims, mostly Jews, who were being persecuted and exterminated by Nazi Germany, Fascist Romania, Fascist Italy, ...

. At her 75th birthday in 1998, Menger was invested as an Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau for her services. On 15 April 2014, Truus Menger-Oversteegen received the Mobilization War Cross with her sister from Prime Minister

Mark Rutte Mark Rutte (; born 14 February 1967) is a Dutch politician who has served as the 14th Secretary General of NATO, secretary general of NATO since October 2024. He previously served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands, prime minister of the Neth ...

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Menger-Oversteegen, Truus Dutch resistance members 1923 births 2016 deaths Female resistance members of World War II Dutch communists Officers of the Order of Orange-Nassau Dutch Righteous Among the Nations Artists from Haarlem