The Quest for Freedom: Belgian Resistance in World War II

Yvonne de Ridder's story starts in Belgium on May 10, 1940, with the droning of aircraft overhead and the news that Hitler's army had invaded Holland, Belgium, and Luxembourg. Despite misgivings, she followed her husband into exile in Poitiers, France, but there they were overtaken by the Nazi occupation. Then Belgium capitulated to Germany, and she and many others were repatriated to their occupied homeland.But Ms. de Ridder fought back. She joined an espionage network, and began the work of the resistance with Groupe General de Sabotage de Belgigue, or "Group G". She hid downed RAF pilots in the back bedroom, cached explosives in the basement, and rode a bicycle laden with bombs through occupied Antwerp under the noses of the Gestapo. She later smuggled Allied airmen from Belgium back home through France and Spain. She harbored Jewish neighbors against Nazi raids, distributed propaganda leaflets, made bombs, sabotaged German army vehicles, and recovered caches of explosives dropped into Belgium by Allied planes. Her tone is startlingly matter-of-fact:"Group G's activity was on the increase again. Although I no longer had the big cache of explosives in my cellar, I still had smaller quantities of munitions hidden in paper bags behind a sofa in my study, and in my kitchen broom closet, behind the pails and cleaning supplies. They were always ready for immediate delivery, and they were in great demand."But the results were grimly effective:"Victor came to get more of the supplies he had asked me to prepare. He looked radiant. He was excited and exuberant as he told me about the German ammunition train that had been blown up by our explosive charges two days before. The charges had been laid on the tracks, and the success of the mission had been enhanced by the fact that a whole contingent of Nazi military personnel had been eliminated in the same blasts. The German command had attached troop-carrying compartments to the ammunition train, and the result of our mission had this awesome dividend. 'Bodies of solders were hanging in trees,' said Victor."The biggest threat was that one of the downed airmen she was helping to evacuate would turn out to be a spy. One afternoon a new airman was passed to her by some fellow operatives, and she had to decide if he was who he said he was or if he would have to be killed.That airman was genuine, but later one of her own agents sold her out and "Madame Yvonne" was arrested by the Gestapo. Her house was searched and the explosives were discovered. After weeks of brutal interrogation she was ordered to be hanged. But only days before her execution the Allies liberated the low countries and she was freed. Still ready to fight, she worked with US forces in occupied Germany. After the war she was decorated by Belgium, France, England, and SHAEF.The modest tone of this narrative does not do justice to the reality: you have to read this book a bit carefully to really understand the sort of Orwellean terror Yvonne de Ridder was living under, and fighting against.

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Lorrin Wong, Bookseller

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