Gerrit Kastein

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Gerrit Kastein (before 1943)

Gerrit Willem Kastein (born June 25, 1910 in Zutphen , † February 21, 1943 in The Hague ) was a Dutch neurologist , interbrigadist and communist resistance fighter during the German occupation in World War II .

Until 1940

Gerrit Kastein was born as the eldest son of Albertus Gerhardus Kastein and Gerdina Leurink. He studied medicine at the University of Groningen , the Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg and at the University of Leiden and became a neurologist. In 1937 he received his doctorate on the subject of A Critique of Holistic Theories . He was married to the German Elisabeth Sachse; the couple had two children.

In the 1930s, Kastein first joined the Onafhankelijke Socialistische Partij (OSP) and later the Communist Partij van Nederland (CPN). He helped smuggle communists out of Germany and was editor of the CPN magazine Politiek en Cultuur . He campaigned against racism and wrote a book on the subject. Because of his activities, he was under surveillance by the Dutch authorities. During the Spanish Civil War he went to Spain as a doctor. He then worked for De Volharding health insurance company in the Netherlands .

In resistance

After the surrender of the Netherlands in May 1940 and during the German occupation of the country, Gert Kastein became active in the resistance. He was one of the co-founders of the Hague division of the illegal CPN founded on May 17, 1940. At this meeting the Vonk resistance group was founded. Kastein was also one of the founders of the medical resistance. Kastein was to be arrested for the first time on September 2, 1941, but was warned and was able to go into hiding.

In the further course of the war he took over the leadership of the resistance group CS-6 , which in early 1943 had around 70 members nationwide. This group took its name from the address Corellistraat 6 in The Hague, where members of the group lived. In the basement of the house was the conspiratorial headquarters, where weapons, explosives, special telephone lines, clothing for robberies and utensils for forging papers were stored. At the suggestion of Kastein, the group decided to give their resistance a radical direction: prominent Dutch people who worked with the Germans should be liquidated.

Kastein also cooperated with other, non-communist resistance groups. He was in possession of photos of the German defense positions along the Dutch coast, which are to be delivered to the Dutch government in London . However, the courier Anton van der Waals hired by the resistance groups was a double agent who handed the films over to the German authorities.

On February 5, 1943, Kastein was involved in an attack on Lieutenant General Hendrik Alexander Seyffardt , a Dutch military man in German service, together with Jan Ver acceler . Seyffardt died a day later. At the trial against Ver Speed, the latter stated that Kastein, who has since passed away, instigated him to commit this attack. On February 7, 1943, Kastein was involved in the attack on Hermannus Reydon , the head of the department of Volksvoorlichting en Kunsten . Reydon's wife was killed in this attack, and Reydon himself died of the consequences six months later.

These liquidations prompted a nationwide wave of arrests, especially among students, which were followed by at least 54 executions by the Silbertanne special unit .

Road sign in Leiden

On February 19, 1943, Kastein wanted to meet the communist resistance activist Piet Wapperom in a Delft café. The plan was to set fire to all labor offices in the Netherlands to prevent further recruitment of workers to Germany. However, Wapperom had already been arrested by the SD and its calendar with the date of the meeting was found on him. He was forced to sit down at a table in the cafe where he was supposed to be prevented from escaping with a broomstick in one pant leg. Kastein arrived on time for the meeting and was arrested; The head of the operation was the head of the Hague Gestapo, Ernst Knorr . There were fights in the car in which Kastein drew a pistol and shot Knorr. He could still be arrested. He was taken to an interrogation room on the fourth floor of the Binnenhof , the headquarters of the Gestapo, and tied to a chair. When he was alone in the room with a soldier, he threw himself headlong out of the window with the chair . He died a few hours later from severe head injuries.

Gerrit Kastein was 32 years old. He is buried in the Ehrenfriedhof in Loenen .

Honors

Gerrit Kastein was posthumously honored as one of three communists with the Verzetskruis .

The room from whose window Kastein threw himself in 1943 was named Gerrit Kasteinkamer after him in June 2017 . One of his daughters and grandchildren were present at the ceremony for the naming ceremony. A street in Leiden was also named after him.

Publications

  • A critique of the holistic theories . Ginsberg, Leiden 1937.
  • Het rassenvraagstuk . Pegasus, Amsterdam 1938.
  • Post-traumatic neurotic reactions bij verzekerden: diagnostiek, therapy, expertise . De Tijdstroom, Lochem 1940.
  • with Marius Jacob Sirks / Leonard Dooren (eds.): Geneeskunde en erfelijkheid . De Tijdstroom, Lochem 1941.
  • Neurotic reactions bij verzekerden . Van Rossen, Amsterdam 1941.

literature

  • Buck Goudriaan: Verzetsman Gerrit Kastein, 1910–1943. "A communist intellectueel van een vreeswekkende koelbloedigheid" . De Nieuwe Vaart, Leiden 2010, ISBN 978-90-802717-5-3 .

Web links

Commons : Gerrit Kastein  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Gerrit Willem Kastein: A critique of the holistic theories . Proefschrift Rijksuniversiteit Leiden. Leiden, Ginsberg, 1937.
  2. ^ Over Gerrit Willem Kastein. In: joodsmonument.nl. February 28, 2006, accessed December 28, 2016 (Dutch).
  3. ↑ Dr. GW Kastein: Het Rassenvraagstuk . Pegasus, 1938.
  4. ↑ Kastein, Gerrit - Nederlandse vrijwilligers in de Spaanse Burgeroorlog. In: spanjestrijders.nl. Retrieved April 25, 2018 (Dutch).
  5. ^ R. Harthoorn: Vuile oorlog in The Hague . Van Gruting, 2011.
  6. ↑ Barbara Beuys : "Living with the enemy". Amsterdam under German occupation 1940-1945 . Hanser, Munich 2012, ISBN 978-3-446-23996-8 , pp. 240 .
  7. ↑ Gerrit Willem Kastein. In: oorlogsgravenstichting.nl. Retrieved April 25, 2018 (Dutch).
  8. ↑ Tweede Kamer vernoemt kamertje naar verzetsman Gerrit Kastein. In: tweedekamer.nl. Retrieved April 25, 2018 (Dutch).
personal data
SURNAME Kastein, Gerrit
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Kastein, Gerrit Willem (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Dutch resistance fighter and neurologist
DATE OF BIRTH June 25, 1910
PLACE OF BIRTH Zutphen
DATE OF DEATH February 21, 1943
Place of death The hague