Freddie Oversteegen by Nicole Oh

Who was Freddie Oversteegen?

noh4116_1_1 — 2025-03-04 22:43:27 UTC

Freddie Nanda Oversteegen was born on September 6, 1925, in Schoten, Netherlands. From a young age, she and her sister were taught the importance of fighting injustice by their mother. At 14, she was recruited by the Dutch resistance where the sisters killed Nazis, smuggled Jewish children out of concentration camps, and blew up railway lines and roads. She died at 92 on September 5, 2018.

noh4116_1_1 — 2025-03-04 22:54:35 UTC

The sister's mother was a firm believer in equality and justice, so at the beginning of the war, she took Jewish refugees into her home. Even though they lived in poverty with mattresses made of straw, they still took in a Jewish couple and a mother and son who lived in their attic.

noh4116_1_1 — 2025-03-04 22:55:24 UTC

Over the course of 5 years, Freddie and Truus worked with the Haarlem Resistance Group to help Jews and punish Nazis. In 1941, they were recruited for the fact that they looked so young. No one would suspect that two little girls would be fighting injustice.

Freddie Oversteegen:

noh4116_1_1 — 2025-03-04 22:58:32 UTC

Video About the Girls:

noh4116_1_1 — 2025-03-04 22:59:49 UTC

Quote:

noh4116_1_1 — 2025-03-04 23:01:30 UTC

“We had to do it. It was a necessary evil, killing those who betrayed the good people.” - Freddie Oversteegen

How They Started:

noh4116_1_1 — 2025-03-04 23:06:15 UTC

The sisters began their careers as resistance members by distributing pamphlets and anti-Nazi posters. The two girls learned to shoot and assassinate Nazi collaborators who arrested or endangered Jews or resistance members. They would either follow the target home and ambush him there, or they would seduce their target, lure them into an empty space/forest, then "liquidate" them.

noh4116_1_1 — 2025-03-04 23:06:55 UTC

Quote:

noh4116_1_1 — 2025-03-06 00:32:22 UTC

“[They] learned that if you have to help somebody, like refugees, you have to make sacrifices for yourself,” - Jeroen Pliester, National Hannie Schaft Foundation chair.

Resistance:

noh4116_1_1 — 2025-03-06 00:38:27 UTC

Freddie herself was extremely good at following and spying and was a good watchdog because she looked so unsuspecting. Among other things, the two girls found hiding places for Jews, smuggled Jewish children out of concentration camps while being in disguise, blew up railway lines/roads so there would be no lines of communication between Nazi officers, and worked in emergency hospitals taking care of the wounded and sick.

Impact:

noh4116_1_1 — 2025-03-06 00:42:53 UTC

Freddie and Truus's collaboration with the Haarlem Resistance Group made a great impact to help stand against injustice. However, the war, the trauma of killing, and the loss of dear loved ones and friends like Hannie Schaft gave Freddie insomnia and PTSD. She coped with the consequences of her actions by getting married and having kids.

noh4116_1_1 — 2025-03-06 00:48:19 UTC

Freddie Oversteegen, Truus Oversteegen, Hannie Schaft, and so many others were sidelined and were failed to be recgonized for their contributions. However, in 2014, both Freddie and Truus were redeemed for their service and with the Mobilisate-Oorlogskruis, or "War Mobilization Cross."

noh4116_1_1 — 2025-03-06 00:53:37 UTC

This was written about the sisters after their commitment was recognized by the Netherlands: "There were a lot of women involved in the resistance in the Netherlands but not so much in the way these girls were. There are not that many examples of women who actually shot collaborators themselves." - Bas von Benda-Beckmann (researcher at the Netherlands' Institute for War, Holocaust, and Genocide Studies)

noh4116_1_1 — 2025-03-06 01:09:37 UTC

Between the three of them, Freddie, Truus, and Hannie, Freddie received the least recognition. However, Freddie was the first who shot and killed someone. She symbolized strength and protected those who could not defend themselves over 5 long years.

Freddie at 92:

noh4116_1_1 — 2025-03-06 01:11:03 UTC

Freddie on the right; Truus on the left

noh4116_1_1 — 2025-03-06 01:11:17 UTC

Freddie's ID Card:

noh4116_1_1 — 2025-03-06 01:11:34 UTC

Quote:

noh4116_1_1 — 2025-03-07 17:04:36 UTC

“We did not feel it suited us — it never suits anybody, unless they are real criminals. . . . One loses everything. It poisons the beautiful things in life.” - Truus Oversteegen

Freddie's Life Afterwards

noh4116_1_1 — 2025-03-07 17:11:48 UTC

After the war, she married a man named Jan Dekker, with whom she had 3 kids and gained the name Freddie Dekker-Oversteegen. Her kids and her 4 grandkids are still alive today.

Song: Stronger

noh4116_1_1 — 2025-03-07 17:20:02 UTC