11. Surviving the Tragedies, Hardships, and Betrayals of the Resistance
Life as an armed partisan would prove a difficult row to hoe, full of dangers and marked by tragedy as often as success. Early on, Truss Oversteegen was present at a failed rescue mission of Jewish children. It ended with the little fugitives caught in searchlights in an open field, where most were riddled with machinegun bullets. Before the war was over, many of her Resistance comrades were arrested and executed. Suspicion was rife that Truus’ and other left-wing cells had been deliberately betrayed by right-wing members of the Resistance, who were backward in the actual fight, but came forward at the hour of liberation to claim the lion’s share of the credit.
Notwithstanding the setbacks and daily dangers, she courageously soldiered on and kept up the fight, evading capture despite a sizeable reward that was placed on her head. After the war, Truus Oversteegen put down her arms, and beating swords into ploughshares, raised a family and went on to make a name for herself as a respected artist and sculptress, and as a public speaker at war memorial services.
