Francien de Zeeuw

Francien de Zeeuw (1944)

Francien de Zeeuw , whose first name is actually Francina (born May 19, 1922 in Terneuzen ; † September 8, 2015 in Middenbeemster ) was a Dutch resistance fighter during the Second World War . In 1944 she became the first female member of the Dutch armed forces .

biography

Youth and German occupation

De Zeeuw grew up as the second of three children in Terneuzen, Zeeland , and the father owned a painting company. After graduating from school, she first found a job in a local switchboard. Following the surrender of the Netherlands in May 1940, de Zeeuw and her parents began to be active in the resistance against the German occupation forces . Her work as a telephone operator benefited her above all, as she was able to listen to calls from the Gestapo and the security service . Among other things, she was able to overhear information about upcoming raids and robberies, which her father then passed on to the appropriate offices in the resistance.

In the further course of the occupation, de Zeeuw's activities for the resistance expanded more and more. Among other things, she helped to find hiding places for people in hiding and to provide them with food stamps. She later took on more dangerous jobs, such as smuggling weapons and forged identity cards. In March 1944, she also took part in a successful raid on a German trading post.

In autumn 1944, de Zeeuw and other members of her resistance group were hiding in a barn near Terneuzen when they were surprised by German troops retreating from the battle of the Scheldt estuary . De Zeeuw managed to get rid of weapons in the group's possession before they were captured by the Germans. After they had initially been detained near the town of Biervliet , they were surprisingly released that night.

Shortly afterwards, de Zeeuw crossed the front line with two others in Zeeuws Vlaanderen . They wanted to inform the Canadian troops active in the area that they were firing at an area that the Germans had already evacuated and that the Canadians were thus only providing avoidable civilian casualties. One of her companions was killed by a grenade during this mission.

First MARVA

After the liberation of the southern Netherlands, reports about de Zeeuw's mission appeared in November 1944, and the British press referred to her as the " Heroine of Zeeland " (in German "Heldin von Zeeland"). On the basis of this reporting, she was approached shortly afterwards by a Dutch naval officer who was concerned with the possible establishment of a naval department for women ( Dutch Marine Vrouwen Afdeling , or MARVA for short) within the Dutch armed forces . Queen Wilhelmina was initially skeptical about the project, but was convinced by de Zeeuw by presenting her with a list of twelve signatures from women who were ready to become part of the new department. MARVA was finally officially founded on October 31, 1944 with de Zeeuw as the first member. She initially stayed in London for the time of her training . During her time in London she was used mainly for advertising and propaganda purposes, which she soon resigned. After the queen intervened, however, she reconsidered this decision and, after completing her training, was transferred to the colony of the Dutch East Indies , which was striving for independence . Mainly due to resistance from the environment of the Dutch churches, de Zeeuw remained the only member of MARVA until April 1945.

Time in the Dutch East Indies

In Batavia de Zeeuw received the post of deputy head of the naval post office. Basically, she and the other members of MARVA were almost exclusively occupied with administrative tasks. The department's motto was: “ Maak een man vrij voor de vloot. “(In German:“ Make a man free for the fleet. ”) The women often had to struggle with prejudice and discrimination during their service time. De Zeeuw also campaigned against the practice that aristocratic members of MARVA were given preferential promotion to officer ranks. In Batavia she entered into a relationship with a soldier, but the two of them were not allowed to marry due to the great differences in military rank, as de Zeeuw had meanwhile been promoted to officer. Her partner died of yellow fever shortly afterwards .

In 1947 de Zeeuw took her leave of the Navy and returned to the Netherlands. When she retired from active service, she held the rank of lieutenant ter zee of the 2nd class ( lieutenant at sea, 2nd class).

After active service

After returning to her home country, de Zeeuw first found a job as a telephone operator at the state post and telecommunications company PTT , where she worked her way up to management. In 1956 she married Willem Cornelis de Regt, who was ten years her junior, and the relationship resulted in three children. After the wedding, the family lived in Purmerend , from then on de Zeeuw was mainly involved in local church work.

Francien de Zeeuw died on September 8, 2015 at the age of 93 in her last place of residence in Middenbeemster in the province of North Holland .

Awards and honors

During her time in the armed forces, de Zeeuw received the following military awards:

• 

  Verzetsherdenkingskruis ("Resistance Memorial Cross ")

• 

  Oorlogsherinneringskruis ("War Memorial Cross ")

• 

  Ereteken voor Orde en Vrede (" Decoration of Honor for Order and Peace")

In her hometown of Terneuzen, the street Francien de Zeeuwhof was named after her in 2017 . The associated street sign was unveiled in a solemn ceremony by her widower Wim and Rob Verkerk , Lieutenant General of the Mariniers Corps . Furthermore, since her death, there have been repeated considerations to name a new ship of the Royal Navy after her. The readers of a daily newspaper and the mayor of Beemster , the community in which de Zeeuw last lived, campaigned for this.

literature

• Natasza Tardio: Francien de Zeeuw. Van Verzetsheldin dead eerste vrouwelijke militair . Pepperbooks, Alkmaar 2017, ISBN 978-90-206-0845-8 .

Web links

• Biography at huygens.knaw.nl (Dutch)
• Description of de Zeeuw's military career at onzevloot.weebly.com (Dutch)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Kim Bootsma: Vrouwen in het leger: 'moet dat nou?' In: jhsg.nl. September 21, 2017, accessed December 18, 2018 (Dutch). 
2. ↑ Francien de Zeeuw. In: spectroom.com. Accessed December 18, 2018 . 
3. ↑ Francien de Zeeuw geëerd met eigen hofje. In: pzc.nl. January 26, 2017, accessed December 14, 2018 (Dutch). 
4. ↑ U was duidelijk: Het nieuwe schip van de marine moet naar Francien de Zeeuw. In: trouw.nl. October 31, 2018, accessed December 14, 2018 (Dutch). 
5. ↑ Hedzer Faber, Richard Walraven: Brinkman: 'Vernoem schip naar De Zeeuw'. In: noordhollandsdagblad.nl. November 5, 2018, accessed December 14, 2018 (Dutch).