WWII Netherlands Escape Lines

Researching the aid given to downed Allied airmen by the Resistance during World War II in The Netherlands, Belgium, and France

Home
Evasion of Tom Applewhite
- Air Force Service
- Illustrated Description of Tom’s Evasion of Capture
- Publications By and About Tom Applewhite
- Fellow Evaders, Helpers, and Norwegian Sailors
- Postwar Reunions with Helpers
- Applewhite Remembered in Literature
  - De Fiets (The Bicycle)
  - Three Wise Men From the West
- Maps of the Initial Part of Tom’s Escape Route
- Concert in Memory of Tom Applewhite and Peek de Noo
Links
- Aerial Battles
- Aerial Reconnaissance
- Allied Aircraft Crashes in The Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, France, Portugal, United Kingdom, Ireland, Sweden, and Germany
- B-17, B-24, B-25, and P-51 Tours
- Battle Casualties
- Belgium – General
- Book Publishers – World War II Subjects
  - Military Book Clubs & Book Stores
- Books Digitized
- Books Used – WWII
- Calculator for Dates, Seasons, Moon Phases, and Sunrise/Sunset
- Coastal Defenses
- Dutch Nicknames, First Names, and Surnames
- Engelandvaarders (Dutch Patriots to England)
- Escape and Evasion Website Links
- Forced Labor Camps
- History
- Holocaust
- International Mail Addressing
- Libraries and Library Databases
- Luftwaffe
- Merchant Marine
- Ministries of Defence
- Museums/National Monuments and Aerospace Museums
- Newspaper Archives, Obituaries, City Directories
- People Searches, Social Security Death Index
- Personal Narratives and Videos
- Prisoners of War
- Resistance (Verzet)
- Royal Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force, Royal New Zealand Air Force, etc.
- Soldiers and Civilians Killed
- Telephone Databases
- U-boats
- United States Army
- War Graves, War Graves Adoption
- World War II
- World War II Airborne Forces
- World War II Airmen in Concentration Camps
- World War II Archives
- World War II Awards, Medals, Decorations, Insignia
- World War II Battles
- World War II BBC Secret Messages to Resistance
- World War II Belgium
- World War II Bombing Strategy
- World War II Canada
- World War II Channel Islands
- World War II Collaborators & Foreign Volunteers
- World War II Combined Operations
- World War II Conferences
- World War II Contrails
- World War II – Denmark
- World War II – Displaced Persons, Evacuated Children
- World War II Documentaries
- World War II Dog Tags
- World War II Everyday Life
- World War II Executions and Deportations
- World War II False ID
- World War II France
- World War II Generals
- World War II – German Military
- World War II German Victims of the Nazis
- World War II Intelligence, SOE
- World War II Irish in Resistance
- World War II Italy
- World War II Lend Lease
- World War II Letters, Correspondence, and Handwritten Reflections
- World War II Looted Art
- World War II Magazines
- World War II Hidden Escape Rooms
- World War II Memorials and Overseas Cemeteries
- World War II Message Boards and Forums
- World War II Military Maps
- World War II Missing in Action
- World War II Movies
- World War II Netherlands
  - Marechaussees
- World War II New Zealand
- World War II Nurses
- World War II Orphans of WWII U.S. Military
- World War II Parachutes
- World War II Photographs
- World War II Prisons
- World War II Propaganda
- World War II Radio Broadcasts
- World War II Railways, Railway Stations, Historical Associations
- World War II Research Institutes
- World War II Reunions of Military Units
- World War II Secret Agents & Resistance Leaders
- Word War II Timeline
- World War II Traitors, Collaborators
- World War II Underground Newspapers (Clandestine Press)
- World War II Uniforms
- World War II United States Army Air Forces (USAAF)
  - 8th Air Force
  - 9th Air Force
  - 12th Air Force
  - 15th Air Force
  - U.S. Airfields in the U.K.
- World War II Veterans – Netherlands, Belgium, France
- World War II Veterans – U.S.
- World War II War Brides
- World War II War Criminals
- World War II – Women in the Resistance
- World War II – Women of Bletchley Park
- World War II – Women in World War II
WWII Escape and Evasion Research
- Aircraft Crash Records and Crash Sites
- Luftwaffe Fighter Claims of Downed Aircraft
- National Archives Research (U.S.)
- Dutch National Archives List of American Airmen Shot Down Over The Netherlands Who Evaded Capture
- Sources Consulted
- U.S. Census Records
Smit-van der Heijden Line
- Connections to Other Escape/Intelligence Lines
- Aid Given to People in Need
- Chronology of the Smit-van der Heijden Line
- Members of the Smit-van der Heijden Line
  - Marechaussees in the Line
  - Civilians in the Line
    - Reunion in Baarle Nassau 1945
- Cafés, Hotels – Centers of Resistance Activity
- Karst Smit – Reports by and about him
  - Interview with Karst Smit by Baarle-Nassau Radio, 1994
  - Report by Karst Smit, July 16, 1945, NARA File
- Articles About the Line
- Arrest, Prison, Concentration Camps
  - 1945 Letter to Bureau of Ex-Political Prisoners
  - 1945 Letter to Bureau Ex-Politieke Gevangenen
- Interview with Karst Smit, July 6-7, 2002
- Recognition for Their Achievements
- Memorials to Victims of the Nazis
- Research Help Requests
  - Photograph Identification
  - Requests for Help in Dutch Publications
- Eugene van der Heijden – Writings by and About Him Plus Interviews
- Hilvarenbeek and the Pilot Route
- Tilburg Police Report
Schrynemakers Family in WWII
- Arthur Schrynemakers’ Dossier
- Himmler’s Arrest by Arthur Britton
WWII Escape and Evasion Topics
- Crash Sites in Belgium
- Dangerous Mistakes of Evading Airmen
- Engelandvaarders
- Escape Aids
- Escape and Evasion Books
- Escape and Evasion Instructions
- Escape and Evasion Websites
- Evasion Statistics – Airmen
- False ID Used by Airmen and Helpers
- False Soir, The (Le faux Soir)
- German Agents Among Airmen
  - Ashbrook Questionnaire
- Traitors, Betrayers, Collaborators
Interviews
- Interview with Laurence W. “Bill” Bettinson, 3rd Radio Officer on the “Lisbeth”
- Interview with Charlotte Ambach
- Interview with Amanda Stassart & Book About Amanda Stassart
Govt. Reports
- Escape & Evasion Advice by Country
  - Denmark
  - Norway
- It’s the Little Things, Escape and Evasion During WWII
- Lecture on Pre-Capture Training
- M.I.S.-X Manual on Evasion, Escape, and Survival
- History of the Holland Office, 6801 MIS-X Detachment
- AAF Aid to European Resistance Movements 1943-1945
Personal Narratives
- A Young Boy and the “Good” War
- Chippy Robinson: a Paratrooper’s Story of Escape After the Battle of Arnhem
- Life in the Dutch Underground: A Deadly Game of Hide and Seek
- The “Delights” of German Occupation
Phantom Train
- Allied Airmen on the Phantom Train
- Minute-by-Minute Account of the Phantom Train
- Report Concerning the Convoy of Sep. 3, 1944 at the Petite-Ile Station
- Phantom Train Reports by C. Lokker & Anne Brusselmans
- List of Prisoners of Le Train Fantôme (Phantom Train)
- Photographs of the Train
- Photographs of the Antagonists
- Belgian National Anthem as Sung by the Prisoners
Helpers of Allied Airmen
- BELGIAN
  - Index to Belgian and Luxemburger Helpers of Allied Personnel
  - Belgian Helpers by Selected Cities and Towns
- CZECH and SLOVAK
- DANISH
- DUTCH
- FRENCH
- GERMAN
- HUNGARIAN
- LUXEMBURGER
- NORWEGIAN
- YUGOSLAVIAN
Resistance Memorial Cross
WWII Maps of Belgium, France, Netherlands
- 1938 Map of Tilburg to Weelde, Belgium
- Belgium 1944 Map
- France 1942 Map
- Netherlands 1944 Map
Other Escape Lines
- Luctor et Emergo/Fiat Libertas
  - Airmen Helped by Fiat Libertas
  - Report by Secret Agent “Frans Hals” (Dignus “Dick” Kragt)
- Maps of Major Escape Routes Through France
- List of French Escape Lines
- Burgundy (Bourgogne) Line
- Comet Line (Le Réseau Comète)
- Dutch-Paris Line
- Groupe Hoornaert-Dirix
- Marie-Claire Line
- MNB (Belgian National Movement/Mouvement National Belge)
- PAT (Pat O’Leary) Line
- Possum Line
- Service EVA
- Shelburn (Shelbourne) Line
WWII Films, Documentaries
Sources Consulted
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- How Do I Learn About an Allied Airman Who Was Shot Down?
- What Did My Father, Mother, etc. Do in the Resistance?
My Library
- Air War
  - Anti-Aircraft
  - B-17’s
  - Luftwaffe
  - RAF
  - V-1 and V-2 Rockets
- Belgium
- Blitzkrieg, Dunkirk, Fifth Column, Beginnings of WWII
- Britain
- Channel Islands, Atlantic Wall
- Collaboration
- Documents
- Domestic Conditions (US, UK, Germany)
- End of the War
- Escape and Evasion
- Forced Labor
- France
- German Navy
- Gibraltar
- Himmler, Gestapo, SD
- History of World War II
- Holocaust, Concentration Camps
- Intelligence, Counter-Intelligence, Espionage
- Nazi Leadership, Nazi Party
- Netherlands
  - Netherlands – Englandspiel
  - Netherlands – King Kong
- Norway, Norwegian Ships, Navigation
- Occupation of Europe
- Prisoners of War
- Prisons
- Propaganda, Psychological Warfare
- Pyrenees, Basques, St. Jean de Luz
- Radar and Radio
- Resistance
  - Phantom Train (Ghost Train)
- Spain, Seville, Miranda de Ebro
- Special Operations – SOE, OSS
- Threats to Airmen: German Police
  - German Police – Geheime Feldpolizei (GFP)
  - German Police – Gestapo
  - German Police – Green Police
  - German Police – SS and SD
- U-Boats, Convoys, Raiders
Escape & Evasion Books
Sounds and Songs of WWII
- Radio Broadcasts
- National Anthems of the Allies
- Songs of WWII
- Military Marches
- Classical Music Celebrating Freedom
- Prison Songs of Hope, Longing
- Band Music
MISC. HELP REQUESTS
RAFES Postal (Philatelic) Covers
Personal Background
- Contact
Evaders and Oranges, The Seville Escape Route
Air Forces Escape & Evasion Society