Every Day Is Special: August 22 - Remembering Willem Arondeus

August 22 - Remembering Willem Arondeus

Posted on August 22, 2019

Willem Arondeus was a Dutch artist and writer. But we don't remember him primarily for his artistic creations. Instead, we remember him mostly for his heroism.

Arondeus, who was born on this date in 1894, was in his forties when the Nazi's invaded and occupied the Netherlands. Arondeus promptly became one of the first members of the Dutch resistance movement.

Before the war, Arondeus lived openly as a gay man. And the Nazis often persecuted members of what we now call the LGBTQI community, including sending gay people to concentration camps and/or executing them. But instead of hiding or trying to run away, Arondeus started an underground newspaper for other artists, encouraging them to join the resistance. He urged artists to use their skills to create forged documents so that Jewish people could pose as non-Jewish residents and - hopefully - travel to someplace that was still free from Nazis (like the U.K.).

The problem was that the Nazis had made lists of Dutch citizens and residents, claiming that the lists were for the people's safety; Arondeus and other resistance fighters knew that they would be used for something much darker than "safety." The lists and identity cards were kept in the Municipal Office for Population Registration. The Nazis could just check the forged papers against those lists and determine that they were fakes!

Arondeus and another in the Dutch resistance planned to attack the office and destroy the registration lists, and they recruited a group of resisters to help. On the planned night in 1943, the resistance fighters disguised themselves as Dutch police officers, gained access to the Municipal Office for Population Regulation, snatched up 600 blank identity cards and 50,000 guilders (Dutch currency, equivalent of around 270,000 current U.S. dollars), destroyed 800,000 identity cards. They blew up the building - and they got away!

When firefighters came to the burning building, they used way more water than necessary to put out the flames. In that way, they were able to destroy as many records as possible while appearing to be doing their jobs.

Unfortunately, there was apparently a traitor in the group. Arondeus was arrested by the Nazis. He refused to give up the names of the other resisters, but the Nazis were able to find his notebook and rounded up 13 other men who had participated in the bombing. Arondeus had a trial and claimed full responsibility for the bombing...but the Nazis didn't buy it. Arondeus and all of the others were executed.

Arondeus's last request of his lawyer was to tell people that he and two others of the resisters were gay. He went on to say, "Tell the people that gays are no cowards!"

(Or some such. I have read several slightly different versions of this quote.)

After the Netherlands were liberated from the Nazis (and the Nazis were, of course, wholly defeated), Arondeus's family was awarded a medal in his honor. Since then, Arondeus has posthumously (after his death) won several other awards and recognitions for courage.

Here is a sample of Arondeus's art: