Remembering The Life-Saving Heroics of a Young Dutchman - Arnold Douwes
Acutely aware of the violence and persecution wrought by the Nazis in their own nation throughout the 1930s, young Dutchman, Arnold Douwes, resolved he'd do everything he could to resist them following their 1940 invasion of his county.
Initially, his acts of resistance were small in nature; distributing banned literature, and, much to his amusement, misdirecting unwitting German soldiers.
Then, however, in the summer of 1942, he met a leading resistance fighter by the name of Johannes Post, who, operating out of the village of Nieuwlande, was not only conducting daring missions of sabotage from there but, was also protecting several Jews from arrest and deportation.
On learning about Johannes’ life-saving operation, Arnold suggested that it should be expanded to encompass all corners of the Netherlands and, in that aim, that they should create what went on to become one of the largest life-saving networks in the whole of Holland.
To that end, Johannes entrusted the command of the network to Arnold, the latter of whom thought nothing of risking his life by venturing beyond the relative safety of Nieuwlande, to locate Jewish families in immediate danger, and to offer them a place of refuge there.
Those who agreed to return with him were not just provided with a safe house in which to stay but, they were also given forged identity papers and distribution vouchers that entitled them to food and other essentials.
As time progressed, Arnold grew the network further by extending refuge to downed Allied airmen and escaped prisoners of war, only then for his selfless activities to attract the attention of the German occupiers, whose Gestapo hunted him down, captured him, and took him away for interrogation.
Despite being held and tortured for more than 8 weeks, he courageously maintained his silence and, although suffering from a wicked combination of mental and physical exhaustion, even attempted to escape his captors.
Shortly after his failed break for freedom, his torturers announced that they no longer had any use for him, and so, ruthlessly declared that he was to be executed on this day in 1944.
In a remarkable twist of fate, though, Arnold Douwes – the savior – became the saved one when six brave members of his resistance group liberated him just hours before his scheduled execution, and then spirited him away to a hideout where he stayed undetected until Germany’s 1945 capitulation.
Twenty years later, he was honored by Yad Vashem as Righteous Among the Nations – An award he refused to accept unless it was also bestowed to the village people of Nieuwlande, whom he said were crucial in helping him rescue no less than 500 Jewish men, women, and children.
In 1985, Arnold's wish was granted, and, when it was, he finally felt able to explain why he did all he did for the Jews of the Netherlands:
"Nobody needs a reason to do the right thing", he said.
"For me, I never thought I had any other choice but to help them."
