The Dutch resistance group NV

Jaap Musch

One of the many resistance groups which were active during WWII in the Netherlands was the NV-Groep (Nameless Company). The group was started by the brothers Jaap en Gerard Musch and a friend of Gerard, Dick Groenewegen van Wijk. Somewhat later they are accompanied by Joop and Semmy Woortman. Joop is a cab-driver and he knows a lot of people in Amsterdam. In January 1943 they come into contact with Walter Süskind, who is in charge of the Hollandsche Schouwburg and the kindergarten on the other side of the street, for the Jewish Counsel.

Joop Woortman (Theo de Bruin)

The occasion that led to the formation of this resistance group was a church service which was attended by Jaap and Gerard Musch on Sunday the 5th of July 1942 at the Rafaëlplein-chuch in Amsterdam.Vicar Sikkel asked the attendees their attention for the fate of the, originally Jewish, family Braun which escaped Austria after 'der Anschluss' (the German occupation of Austria in 1938). Jaap and Gerard retreated to the fate of the family Braun and decided to help them to hide with Dutch families. First they took care of the children and hid them with a family in the northern province of Friesland, the parents found a family with the help of a vicar in Barneveld, in the centre of the Netherlands.

After this they decide only to help Jewish children because they were easier to hide than adults, they easier accepted the authority of the resistance workers, they didn't need any identification papers and they were the most helpless of all.

In the beginning they had a lot of trouble finding good addresses to hide but in the end they found them in the south of Limburg, in the south-east of the Netherlands, close to the border with Germany and Belgium. They succeeded with the help of vicar Pontier, who found a lot of families in Brunssum, Heerlen and surrounsing villages which agreed to take up into their families these Jewish children. This was also a demand by the leaders of the NV. The children in hiding had to become part of the family life and to be able to go to school and play outside, just like any other child.

From left: Cor Grootendorst and Truus Vermeer.

The house of the family Vermeer in Brunssum functions as a first stop after the child is taken from it's home or the kindergarten in Amsterdam to the hiding place. The house of the Vermeer-family is by some people called the 'elastic' house. It's a coming and going of family members (both parents and in the end 3 of their children were actively involved in the resistance), resistance workers and most of the 250 children saved by the NV. Here the children stay a few days to get some rest and they are surrounded by hospitality and tender loving care. Especially the oldest daughter of the family, Truus Vermeer, is very actively involved in the NV-Group.

Gradually the pressure is increased by the German occupiers and Dutch collaborators/traitors through the office of the Sipo and SD (Sicherheitspolizei und Sicherheitsdienst) at Maastricht, so that the resistance group is forced to hide the children elsewhere in the Netherlands. Most of the children have to move again to another family. Many of them find a new hiding address in Nijverdal and surrounding villages (in the east of the Netherlands) and in the Betuwe, an area in the centre of the Netherlands.

During the whole hiding-period all the children are visited by members of the NV.  They provide the hiding-parents with ration cards (to buy food) and cash money to take care of the hidden child. Also it's a means of checking up, to see if the parents take good care of the child or children in their care. If possible all children are visited once each month. This is mostly taken care of by the female members of the NV-Group. They also took care of the transport of the children from Amsterdam to Brunssum, most of the times. A woman in a train with children is less suspicious than a man with children. After the general railway strike in September 1944 this becomes nearly impossible to achieve. From now on this is taken care of by local contacts.

The total amount of children saved by the NV is about 250. It is estimated that about 160 of them were kidnapped from the kindergarten of the Hollandsche Schouwburg. One of the most well-known of them is Ed van Thijn, former mayor of Amsterdam, State Secretary and long time member of the Dutch parliament. All of these children survived to the end of the war and escaped treason and arrest. This contrary to some of the resistance workers of the NV.

• Jaap Musch: was arrested in Nijverdal and dies on the 7th of September 1944 in camp Ommen.
• Joop Woortman (alias Theo de Bruin): joins a sabotage-group later on, is arrested and dies in Bergen-Belsen on the 13th of March 1945.
• Ds. H.R. de Jong: dies in Haarlem on the 12th of February 1945. He was one of the many vicars actively involved in the resistance of the NV.

Many members of the various resistance groups which aimed their work on saving Jewish children cooperated after the war with governmental Commission for War-Fosterchildren (OPK).

Children of the Van der Bijl and Hamerslag families which were saved by the NV.

• Suze van der Bijl (14-1-1939): youngest daughter of Samuel van der Bijl and Alida Hamerslag. Samuel, Alida and their other children Bernard and Kitty are gassed at Sobibor on the 16th of July 1943. Suze emigrates to the USA in 1953 with her aunt Klara Hamerslag and her family.

• Siena van der Bijl (Sientje,11-12-1935): youngest daughter of Jacob van der Bijl and Mietje Prins. Jacob, Mietje and their oldest son die in or around Auschwitz in 1944. Siena emigrates to Australia in 1951.

• Jacob (24-3-1928) and Joseph (24-3-1930) Blok: sons of Gerzon Blok and Esther Hamerslag (oldest sister of Alida). The whole family survives the war in hiding.

• Esther (24-5-1931) and Rebecca (27-4-1935) Hamerslag: daughters of Juda Hamerslag and Clara Schellevis. The whole family survives the war and they emigrate to the USA in 1949.

Literature:

A.P.M. Cammaert: Het verborgen front (The hidden front).

B.J. Flim: De NV en haar kinderen (The NV and it's children).

B.J. Flim: Omdat hun hart sprak (Because it took to their hearts).

Ed van Thijn: Het verhaal en daarna (The story and after).

Elma Verhey: Om het Joodse kind (Because of the Jewish child).

DVD: Secret courage: The Walter Süskind Story.