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Freddie Oversteegen, 14 and Truus, 16 were raised by a single woman in the city of Haarlem.

Their mom was a communist who taught her daughters to fight for injustice. She took Jewish refugees into her home to help them hide from the Nazi's.

When Nazi's invaded the Netherlands, the girls and their mom started distributing anti Nazi newspapers for the resistance.

The things that the girls did were really dangerous and they could've had gotten killed, but they never gave up.

EVENTS:
-One day a commander with the Haarlem Resistance group visited them and asked Freddie and Truus if they're interested in joining him to take down Nazi's and they accepted. Later on, the commander told them that they have to learn how to shoot, sabotage railway lines and bridges and the girls were excited.

-Truus seduced an SS officer in the woods so that someone from the resistance could shoot him. Later on, the sisters started going on assassination missions and they focused on killing Dutch collaborators who arrested Jewish refugees and resistance members.

-In 1943, Hannie Schaft joined them. She was a young woman that dropped out of university because she refused to sign a pledge of loyalty to Germany. Together, they formed a sabotage and assassination cell. She ended up getting killed by the Nazi's in 1945 just 3 weeks before the war ended.

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After the war, the sisters struggled with a lot of trauma of killing people and losing their friend. Truus coped by making sculptures and Freddie got married and had kids. Freddie also suffered by insomnia and she had flashbacks from what she did.

Truus ended up dying in 2016 and Freddie died in 2018, a day before she turned 93.

Even though they did so many good things, the Netherlands failed to recognize their achievements.

The number of Nazi's they killed is unknown because they refused to share it with the public.

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Picture of Freddie Oversteegen as a young girl

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Picture of Freddie Oversteegen as a young girl

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Recent picture of the sisters before they passed away.

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Recent picture of the sisters before they passed away.

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''Always stay human.''

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“It was a necessary evil, killing those who betrayed the good people.”

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Picture of Hannie Schaft taken right before her execution

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Picture of Hannie Schaft taken right before her execution

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Picture of Hannie Schaft (their best friend)

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Picture of Hannie Schaft (their best friend)

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Short video about the Oversteegen sisters and their friend Hannie

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Short video about the Oversteegen sisters and their friend Hannie

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuT_Wd7-kq4

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The teenage Dutch girls who seduced and killed Nazis - BBC REEL

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https://whatshernamepodcast.com/truus-and-freddie-oversteegen/

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Freddie and Truus Oversteegen were just 14 and 16 years old when the Nazis invaded their hometown of Haarlem. Determined to do their part, the sisters joined the Dutch Resistance and began bombing trains, smuggling out Jewish children, and running refugee safehouses. But their most dangerous work by far was also the most unlikely for two young girls to ever take on: assassinating Nazi officers in broad daylight.

Olivia interviews guest Sophie Poldermans, author of Seducing and Killing Nazis, to discover this astounding true story of courage, camaraderie, and the fight to stay human in inhuman times.

A full transcript of this episode is available here.

Sophie Poldermans is the author of the New York Post & Amazon best seller Seducing and Killing Nazis. Hannie, Truus and Freddie: Dutch Resistance Heroines of WWII (USA, 2019). She personally knew Truus and Freddie Oversteegen for 20 years and worked closely with them for over a decade as a board member of the National Hannie Schaft Foundation. Poldermans is the founder of "Sophie's Women of War," shedding light on women leaders in times of conflict, and a Dutch women's rights advocate, author, public speaker, lecturer and consultant on women and war, human rights-related issues from a legal, historical and sociological perspective and women's leadership. She has degrees in Dutch and International Human Rights and International Criminal Law (University of Amsterdam); Peace and Conflict Studies (UC Berkeley, USA); Human Rights and Democratization (EIUC, Venice, Italy; Vienna, Austria) and Women's Leadership (Yale School of Management). She has work experience as a lecturer in Conflict Resolution and International Human Rights and Criminal Law at several (international) universities.

Music featured in this episode included

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THE RESISTANCE Truus and Freddie Oversteegen - What'shername

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Freddie and Truus Oversteegen were just 14 and 16 years old when the Nazis invaded their hometown of Haarlem. Determined to do their part, the sisters joined the Dutch Resistance and began bombing trains, smuggling out Jewish children, and running refugee safehouses.

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https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9031792/

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Rebels: The Oversteegen Sisters Story (TV Series) - IMDb

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IMDb is the world's most popular and authoritative source for movie, TV and celebrity content. Find ratings and reviews for the newest movie and TV shows. Get personalized recommendations, and learn where to watch across hundreds of streaming providers.