De Jongh, Andree (1916–)

views updated

De Jongh, Andree (1916–)

Belgian resistance leader. Name variations: Andrée de Jongh or dejongh; Dedee or Dédée Jongh. Born 1916 in Schaerbeek, near Brussels, Belgium; dau. of Frederic de Jongh (headmaster and resistance leader who was arrested by the Gestapo in June 1943 and later executed).

Anti-Nazi resistance leader, 1st trained as a nurse; was an artist in Malmédy when the Germans invaded France (1940); moved to Brussels, where, with the help of her father, formed Comet (Comète), an escape network in Belgium for downed airman (the Comet Line helped return about 800 Allied troops to Britain during WWII); caught by the Germans (Jan 1944), was sent to Ravensbruck Concentration Camp; liberated (April 1945); after the war, worked in a leper hospital in Addis Ababa. Awarded the American Medal of Freedom.

About this article

De Jongh, Andree (1916–)

Updated About encyclopedia.com content Print Article