“Mother of 1001 children”: the resistance heroine who saved thousands from the Nazis

Truus Wijsmuller, also known as “Auntie Truus,” dedicated her life to helping children affected by World War II. She was energetic, cheeky, and fearless — even when facing the Gestapo.

Born in Alkmaar in 1896, Truus was the daughter of a drugstore worker and a self-employed dressmaker. In 1913, she moved to Amsterdam with her family.

There, her parents not only taught her to help people in need but set an example by taking in a homeless Austrian boy after the First World War.

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Some years after moving to Amsterdam, Truus fell in love with Joop Wijsmuller and the couple married in 1922.

However, when they discovered that they couldn’t have kids, Truus decided to dedicate herself to helping the children of others instead.

Through social work, Truus unknowingly began her journey toward becoming a resistance heroine.

The birth of a resistance heroine

Besides her social work, Truus was also very politically involved.

Her hard work in these two areas and her general good-hearted nature earned her the respect of many. 

Thanks to these attributes, she could rely on an extensive network of people when she began her resistance work in 1933.

Her first endeavour was to travel to Jewish acquaintances in Germany and bring their children safely to the Netherlands.

After Kristallnacht (The Night of Broken Glass) in 1938, Truus heard rumours of lost children wandering about in the forest, so she set out for the Dutch-German border. 

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There, she found a Yiddish-speaking Polish boy. She smuggled him across the border and into the Netherlands without being caught.

How, you might ask? Under her skirt! 👗

“Truus was our guardian angel… She gave me my life. That’s the reason I am here,” said Philip de Groot, whom Truus rescued as a child.

London calling 

Truus’ operation became more extensive at the end of the 1930s.

In November 1938, the British government decided to provide temporary refuge for Jewish children who lived in countries under Nazi control.

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Having made a name for herself, Truus was asked to help with the operation.

She was requested to go to Germany and meet Otto Adolf Eichmann.

At the time, Eichmann was in charge of arranging the forced emigration of Jews from Germany and Austria, who later played a major role in organising the Holocaust.

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Fearlessly, Truus agreed.

An impossible task

On December 11, 1938, Truus met Eichmann to arrange for the emigration of Jewish children to England via the Netherlands. 

When she arrived at the meeting, she expected to negotiate the number of children she could bring back on her first trip.

However, Eichmann refused all negotiations and instead gave her a challenge.

He challenged her with the care of 600 Jewish children, convinced that the task was impossible and that her operation was doomed to fail.

He couldn’t have been more wrong.

Getting to work immediately, Truus successfully escorted all 600 children out of Austria.

Within a few days, 500 of the children had safely arrived in England through Hoek van Holland, while 100 children stayed in the Netherlands.

Take that, Eichmann — never underestimate a woman! 💪

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Truus continued this work until the outbreak of the war, bringing 150 children to safety each time she travelled between England and the Netherlands.

More noteworthy still, she organised the transport of these children without any support from the Dutch government. They were too busy being not-so-happy about her work.

Before the war, the country didn’t want to offend Nazi Germany. Plus, in 1938, the Netherlands was already struggling to accommodate a high influx of refugees.

Truus relied mainly on her own network of people to transport the children through the Netherlands. 

An orphanage in Amsterdam

Although most children were supposed to go to England, many ultimately stayed in the Netherlands.

From March 1939, these children were housed at the Burgerweeshuis orphanage in Amsterdam (now the Amsterdam Museum).

Both Truus and her husband, Joop, spent much of their time with the children from the Burgerweeshuis.

They even invited the children into their home for short periods to create a more gezellig atmosphere. Joop also took the children to the ARTIS Zoo in Amsterdam.

“Because of Mrs Wijsmuller, the Burgerweeshuis was the only place where so many children were rescued,” said Rita Meier-Brow, whom Truus saved as a child.

Given the love she and her husband dedicated to the children, it is no surprise that her 1978 obituary read: “Mother of 1001 children, who made saving Jewish children her life’s task.”

However, in May 1940, the Netherlands was occupied by Nazi Germany.

Truus was in Paris then but dropped everything to return to the Netherlands.

Time was ticking, but she managed to pull off the impressive feat of evacuating the Burgerweeshuis children to England before it was too late.

Working illegally in the occupation

Truus moved to Belgium during the German occupation of the Netherlands. From there, she continued her work illegally, though on a smaller scale. 

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Working with the Dutch, Belgian, and French Red Cross, she continued to smuggle children to safety. Truus also smuggled packages with essentials such as medicine, food, and clothing to refugee camps in southern France.

Whenever possible, she would reunite the children with their families. 

Arrested by the Gestapo

In May 1942, Truus was arrested by the Gestapo upon entering the Netherlands. They suspected that she was helping Jews get safely to Switzerland (you bet she was!), but they couldn’t prove her guilty.

Luckily, the refugees that the Gestapo had gotten hold of only knew Truus by her alias, and she was released after a few days.

An unstoppable woman

Neither war, occupation, nor being arrested by the Gestapo could make Truus stop her resistance work.

Throughout the war, she continued to do everything in her power to help children in need. 

Even after the war ended, Truus continued to make an impact, shifting her focus toward social policy as she transitioned into a political role.”

Despite being overlooked for decades, Truus Wijsmuller is finally beginning to get the recognition she deserves.

A documentary called Truus’ Children premiered on NPO (Dutch Foundation for Public Broadcasting) in May 2020 and is now available on Netflix. 

Truus Wijsmuller is a true heroine. Her selflessness and compassion during one of history’s darkest times inspire us to believe in the goodness of people.