Andrée de Jongh (1916-2007) deceived enemies with her youth and returned hundreds of Allied soldiers to their homes, repeatedly putting her life in danger to give others a chance at freedom.
All month, we're talking about Spies. Tune in to hear incredible stories of intelligence and espionage!
Every weekday, listeners explore the trials, tragedies, and triumphs of groundbreaking women throughout history who have dramatically shaped the world around us. In each 5 minute episode, we’ll dive into the story behind one woman listeners may or may not know -- but definitely should. These diverse women from across space and time are grouped into easily accessible and engaging monthly themes like Leading Ladies, Activists, STEMinists, Local Legends, and many more. Encyclopedia Womannica is hosted by WMN co-founder and award-winning journalist Jenny Kaplan. The bite-sized episodes pack painstakingly researched content into fun, entertaining, and addictive daily adventures.
Encyclopedia Womannica was created by Liz Kaplan and Jenny Kaplan, executive produced by Jenny Kaplan, and produced by Liz Smith, Grace Lynch, Maddy Foley, and Brittany Martinez. Special thanks to Shira Atkins, Edie Allard, and Carmen Borca-Carrillo, Taylor Williamson, and Ale Tejeda.
We are offering free ad space on Wonder Media Network shows to organizations working towards social justice. For more information, please email Jenny at jenny@wondermedianetwork.com.
Follow Wonder Media Network:
Hello, from Wonder Media Network, I’m Jenny Kaplan and this is Encyclopedia Womannica.
Today’s spy deceived her enemies with her youth and returned hundreds of Allied soldiers to their homes. She moved stealthily throughout Europe to deliver people to safety. She repeatedly put her life in danger for the opportunity to give others a chance at freedom. Let’s talk about Andrée de Jongh!
Andrée de Jongh was born on November 30, 1916, in Schaerbeek, Belgium during the German occupation of World War I. She was the daughter of Alice Decarpentrie and Frédréric de Jongh, an elementary school principal..
During Andrée’s childhood years, Frédréric shared stories of Red Cross matron and heroine Edith Cavell. In November of 1914, after the Germans had seized Brussels, Edith sheltered and helped 200 British soldiers escape to the Netherlands. Stories like Edith’s inspired Andrée and would later guide her in her work.
After graduating from college, Andrée took a job as a commercial artist. Not long after, World War II began and the Germans invaded Belgium. Motivated by the heroism of Edith Cavell, Andrée quit her job and employed her first-aid training. In May of 1940, she volunteered as a nurse with the Belgian Red Cross.
In between tending to wounded British soldiers, Andrée paid close attention to the movements of the Germans. Nursing did not fulfill her in the way she wanted; she wanted to play a more active role in the war. Andrée shifted her focus to the Allied soldiers being shot out of the sky by German bomber jets. She was determined to help them get back home.
Andrée badgered friends and family to open their homes to the soldiers and donate money and food, while she worked to get forged ID papers. In addition to finding safe houses for the soldiers, Andrée consulted with confidants to suss out escape routes. In August 1941, Andrée completed her first escape expedition with two Belgians and one Scottish soldier. They traveled on a smugglers route through the Pyrenees mountains between Spain and France. When they arrived at the British consulate in Bilbao, the officials were incredulous that this petite 24-year-old woman completed such a mission.
Following this success, Andrée smuggled two more Scottish soldiers to San Sebastian. Shortly after that, she delivered 10 Belgian civilians and an Englishwoman to safety. The British consul to Spain recognized the effect that returning lost soldiers would have on morale and agreed to provide financial and logistical backing for what became known as the Comet Escape Line.
Andrée used her youthful appearance to her advantage. She was extremely unsuspicious and was able to blend in easily. She could inconspicuously walk down the monitored streets of Belgium with a couple of disguised Allied men just a few steps behind her.
Though Andrée’s appearance was clearly an advantage, it was not necessarily understood as such by the people she sought to help. When one soldier realized his fate was going to lie in Andrée’s hands, he proclaimed “our lives are going to depend on a schoolgirl”.
Andrée’s work required intelligence and determination. And she also brought warmth and compassion to those she was helping. She introduced herself using one of her two code names, Dédée, which means little mother, or “the Postman”, a name given to her by British intelligence officers, for obvious reasons.
One of Andrée’s great skills was her ability to be invisible. Being a woman at that time had its advantages when it came to passing unnoticed, but Andrée also taught her charges to be invisible, too. Her tips included always walking at least 15 feet behind her and never speaking to anyone while out in public. During train rides, she gave her travelers oranges to peel messily to ward off neighbors. Andrée had a knack for avoiding any scrutiny and attention.
Andrée could not do the work she did without help. She had volunteers and organizers to recover the men, provide medical support, and clothe, shelter, and feed them. Providing aid was just as dangerous as traveling along the 1,000 mile long Comet Escape line. Andrée’s sister was arrested and sent to a concentration camp and her father was caught and shot by a German firing squad. Everyone who signed up for this expedition knew the odds. To temper expectations, Andrée told all recruits that they should expect to either be dead or captured within six months.
In total, Andrée successfully completed about 30 trips to Spain. She ushered 118 servicemen out of occupied Belgium, over the Pyrenees, to Gibraltar, and hundreds more also escaped along the Comet line.
In 1943, the Germans captured Andrée in a farmhouse at the base of the Pyrenees. When she confessed to the role she played in helping men escape, the Germans laughed in her face and said “Don’t be ridiculous”. They interrogated her 20 times before sending her to Ravensbruck concentration camp. It was once again her youth that saved her. When the Gestapo came back to re-question her, they were unable to identify her among the masses of malnourished women. Andrée remained in the camp until its liberation in April of 1945.
After the war, Andrée resumed her nursing studies and spent 28 years working in leper colonies in the Belgian Congo, Cameroon, Ethiopia, and Senegal. She received the United States Medal of Freedom with Golden Palms and the British George Medal. In 1985, Andrée was named a Countess by the King of the Belgians.
She returned to Belgium when her health took a turn for the worse and died on October 13, 2007.
Andrée’s extraordinary efforts saved lives and sparked hope. She ensured that the lives of airmen shot down in enemy territory were not lost.
All month, we’re talking about spies.
For more on why we’re doing what we’re doing, check out our newsletter Womannica Weekly.
Follow us on facebook and instagram @encyclopediawomannica.
Special thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister and co-creator.
Talk to you tomorrow!