Sabotage and espionage

Espionage played an important role in the Dutch resistance during the Second World War. The resistance worked at the risk of their own lives during the war to disrupt the activities of the Nazis and weaken their positions. The resistance sabotages railway lines and other supply measures of the occupier, the registration system and buildings where Germans lived and worked.  Resistance fighters also infiltrated German organizations to spy on and sabotage the work of the occupier from within.


Minox Riga espionage camera 1938 - 1943

The biggest problem was connecting from the Netherlands to London and vice versa. They not only had to overcome logistical problems, but above all they had to deal with the very active German counterintelligence. Espionage was carried out by resistance groups as part of their activity, such as with the Order Service (OD) or as a main activity, such as by the group around Allard Oosterhuis. For another part, the initiative came from England, and then either directly from English intelligence services, or from Dutch in collaboration with the English. This meant that secret agents were dropped into occupied territory, usually together with a wireless operator.

Needless to say the penalties were extremely severe