Geuzenveld-Slotermeer in Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands — Northwestern Europe
Jacoba van Tongeren
Photographed by Andrew Ruppenstein, July 25, 2022
1. Jacoba van Tongeren Marker
Tjimahi (Bandoeng), 14 oktober 1903 - Bergen (NH), 15 september 1967
Verpleegkundige Jacoba van Tongeren was de enige vrouwelijke oprichter van een grote verzetsgroep: Groep 2000. Ook stond ze aan de wieg van het illegale blad Vrij Nederland. Groep 2000 hielp duizenden onderduikers aan valse persoonsbewijzen, adressen en voedsel- bonnen. Van Tongeren vervoerde de bonnen ook zelf in een speciaal bonnenvest naar onderduikers, wat haar de bijnaam 'de Bonnenkoningin' opleverde. Doordat ze haar groepsleden niet bij naam noemde, maar een code gaf, overleefde vrijwel iedereen de oorlog. Ze was voor geweldloos verzet en noemde haar werk 'vredeswerk in oorlogstijd'. Na de oorlog kreeg zij pas laat eer en bekendheid. Vrouwelijke verzetsstrijders bleven vaak onderbelicht, maar ook haar codenaam droeg bij aan weinig naamsbekendheid. Postuum kreeg zij de Yad Vashem-onderscheiding van de staat Israλl als Rechtvaardige onder de Volkeren. Ook is er een tweejaarlijkse Jacoba van Tongerenlezing.
Nurse Jacoba van Tongeren was the only female founder of a large resistance group: Groep 2000. She was also one of the founders of the illegal magazine Vrij Nederland ("Free Netherlands"). Group 2000 helped thousands of people in hiding to obtain false identity cards, addresses and ration cards. Van Tongeren also transported the ration cards herself in a special voucher vest to people in hiding, which earned her the nickname 'the Ration Card Queen'. Because she did not call her group members by name, but gave them a code, almost everyone survived the war. She was for nonviolent resistance, calling her work "wartime peace work." It was only late after the war that she received honor and fame. Female resistance fighters often remained underexposed, but her code name also contributed to little name recognition. She was posthumously awarded the Yad Vashem Award by the State of Israel as Righteous Among the Nations. There is also a biennial Jacoba van Tongeren lecture.
Erected by Geef
this page online
Topics and series. This memorial is listed in these topic lists: War, World II • Women. In addition, it is included in the Give Streets a Face / Geef Straten Een Gezicht, the Heroes of the Dutch Resistance (GSEG), and the The Holocaust series lists. A significant historical date for this entry is September 15, 1967.
Location. 52° 22.691′ N, 4° 49.886′ E. Memorial is in Amsterdam, Noord-Holland (North Holland). It is in Geuzenveld-Slotermeer. It is at the intersection of Burgemeester Fockstraat and Jacoba van Tongeren-Brug, on the left when traveling north on Burgemeester Fockstraat. Touch for map. Memorial is in this post office area: Amsterdam, Noord-Holland 1063 CL, Netherlands. Touch for directions.
Regionally, it is in Europe, the European Union, Atlantic Europe, the Benelux Low Countries, the Schengen Area, Western Europe, and the Western World. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Roman Empire and specifically also the Holy Roman Empire.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Reina Prinsen Geerligs (about 120 meters away, measured in a
Photographed by Andrew Ruppenstein, July 25, 2022
2. Jacoba van Tongeren Marker - wide view
Also see . . .
1. Jacoba van Tongeren (Wikipedia).
Excerpt: "Jacoba van Tongeren, Groep 2000 and its 150 members have remained virtually unknown, in part because of Jacoba's modesty and her post-war ill health. But the fact that the group was working entirely in code did not help matters either. Wartime camouflage also worked after the war. Only in 2015, when the book Jacoba van Tongeren and the unknown resistance heroes of Groep 2000', was published, the veil was lifted. It was based on the memoirs, which were discovered by accident by a son of Jacoba van Tongeren's brother. Only then a full picture of the organisation began to emerge: the group had been invisible for 70 years."(Submitted on August 8, 2022.)
2. Jacoba van Tongeren (JacobavanTongeren.nl).
Excerpt: "Jacoba van(Submitted on August 8, 2022.)Tongeren (19031967) was an Amsterdam nurse who saved the lives of thousands of people during the German occupation, but her story languished in obscurity until 2015. Between 1940 and 1945, Jacoba led a resistance group of some 140 men and women. She came up with a unique code to refer to the members of her group and people in hiding: the letters of their names were converted into numbers, and the group members knew one another only by their number. In 194445, she was the only woman in the upper echelons of the Amsterdam resistance."Photographed by Max Nauta, 19453. Marker inset: Jacoba van Tongeren
Credits. This page was last revised on December 31, 2023. It was originally submitted on August 8, 2022, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. This page has been viewed 225 times since then and 20 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on August 8, 2022, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California.
