https://padlet.com/27besawr/v6jt6whrcbxeoe43 World War II Resistance Movement en-us 2022-03-30 12:59:17 UTC 2025-12-12 19:44:47 UTC hello@padlet.com 27besawr https://padlet.com/27besawr/v6jt6whrcbxeoe43/wish/2121471243 Freddie Oversteegen died on September 5th, 2018, at the age of 92, just one day before her 93rd birthday.]]> 2022-03-30 13:24:44 UTC https://padlet.com/27besawr/v6jt6whrcbxeoe43/wish/2121471243 27besawr https://padlet.com/27besawr/v6jt6whrcbxeoe43/wish/2121473700 Truus Oversteegen died at the age of 92, in 2014. Both she and her sister were 92 years old when they passed.]]> 2022-03-30 13:25:51 UTC https://padlet.com/27besawr/v6jt6whrcbxeoe43/wish/2121473700 27besawr https://padlet.com/27besawr/v6jt6whrcbxeoe43/wish/2121478937 The sisters' best friend, Hannie Schaft, was arrested and killed by Nazis in 1945, just three weeks before World War II ended. Hannie's last words were, "I'm a better shot."]]> 2022-03-30 13:28:18 UTC https://padlet.com/27besawr/v6jt6whrcbxeoe43/wish/2121478937 27besawr https://padlet.com/27besawr/v6jt6whrcbxeoe43/wish/2121485283 Freddie Oversteegen joined the Dutch resistance during World War II when she was 14 and was only a couple of years older when she became one of its armed assassins. ]]> 2022-03-30 13:31:17 UTC https://padlet.com/27besawr/v6jt6whrcbxeoe43/wish/2121485283 27besawr https://padlet.com/27besawr/v6jt6whrcbxeoe43/wish/2121493070 Freddie Oversteegen and her sister Truus grew up in the city of Haarlem with their single, working-class mother. Their mother considered herself a communist and taught her daughters the importance of fighting injustice. In 1939, when Europe was on the brink of war, she took Jewish refugees into their home.]]> 2022-03-30 13:34:50 UTC https://padlet.com/27besawr/v6jt6whrcbxeoe43/wish/2121493070 27besawr https://padlet.com/27besawr/v6jt6whrcbxeoe43/wish/2121498250 From their mother, Freddie and Truus learned that "if you have to help somebody, like refugees, you have to make sacrifices for yourself." Their mother's example influenced and motivated them to do what they did as an act of resistance.]]> 2022-03-30 13:37:22 UTC https://padlet.com/27besawr/v6jt6whrcbxeoe43/wish/2121498250 27besawr https://padlet.com/27besawr/v6jt6whrcbxeoe43/wish/2121510565 In May 1940, the Nazis invaded the Netherlands and so, in response, the girls began their first act of resistance. They joined their mother in distributing anti-Nazis newspapers and pamphlets. ]]> 2022-03-30 13:43:05 UTC https://padlet.com/27besawr/v6jt6whrcbxeoe43/wish/2121510565 27besawr https://padlet.com/27besawr/v6jt6whrcbxeoe43/wish/2123540439 If the Nazis caught the girls they could have killed them. But because they were both young girls— Freddie looked even younger when she wore braids— meant that officials were less likely to suspect them as a part of the resistance. ]]> 2022-03-31 13:05:35 UTC https://padlet.com/27besawr/v6jt6whrcbxeoe43/wish/2123540439 27besawr https://padlet.com/27besawr/v6jt6whrcbxeoe43/wish/2123579590 In 1941, a commander with the Haarlem Resistance group visited the Oversteegen's house and asked the girl's mother if he could recruit Freddie and Truus. Their mother and the sisters all consented and agreed. However, the sisters didn't find out until later that they would be sabotaging bridges and railroad lines, as well as learning how to shoot; to shoot Nazis.]]> 2022-03-31 13:25:10 UTC https://padlet.com/27besawr/v6jt6whrcbxeoe43/wish/2123579590 27besawr https://padlet.com/27besawr/v6jt6whrcbxeoe43/wish/2125383979 In at least one instance, Truus seduced an SS officer into the woods so that someone from the resistance could shoot him. Freddie and Truus learned to shoot Nazis too and the sisters began to go on assassinations missions by themselves. Later on, they focused on killing Dutch collaborators who arrested or endangered Jewish refugees and resistance members. ]]> 2022-04-01 13:00:34 UTC https://padlet.com/27besawr/v6jt6whrcbxeoe43/wish/2125383979 27besawr https://padlet.com/27besawr/v6jt6whrcbxeoe43/wish/2125388914 The Oversteegen sisters joined forces with another young woman, Hannie Schaft, and together they formed a sabotage and assassination cell.]]> 2022-04-01 13:03:44 UTC https://padlet.com/27besawr/v6jt6whrcbxeoe43/wish/2125388914 27besawr https://padlet.com/27besawr/v6jt6whrcbxeoe43/wish/2125407460 Freddie and her sister were inspiration to the Jewish population and were proof that there was still good in the world. They fought for what they believed in and didn't let their fears get in the way of doing the right thing. ]]> 2022-04-01 13:14:56 UTC https://padlet.com/27besawr/v6jt6whrcbxeoe43/wish/2125407460 27besawr https://padlet.com/27besawr/v6jt6whrcbxeoe43/wish/2125410527 Freddie (left) and her sister, Truus (right).]]> 2022-04-01 13:16:51 UTC https://padlet.com/27besawr/v6jt6whrcbxeoe43/wish/2125410527 27besawr https://padlet.com/27besawr/v6jt6whrcbxeoe43/wish/2125413264 Hannie Schaft and the Oversteegen Sisters Podcast]]> 2022-04-01 13:18:31 UTC https://padlet.com/27besawr/v6jt6whrcbxeoe43/wish/2125413264 27besawr https://padlet.com/27besawr/v6jt6whrcbxeoe43/wish/2125416518 “They were unusual, these girls,” Bas von Benda-Beckmann says, “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.”]]> 2022-04-01 13:20:26 UTC https://padlet.com/27besawr/v6jt6whrcbxeoe43/wish/2125416518 27besawr https://padlet.com/27besawr/v6jt6whrcbxeoe43/wish/2125431550 https://www.history.com/news/dutch-resistance-teenager-killed-nazis-freddie-oversteegen]]> 2022-04-01 13:29:47 UTC https://padlet.com/27besawr/v6jt6whrcbxeoe43/wish/2125431550