The fallen resistance people in Limburg

Berendje van Assen-Grolleman
(Berendina)

Maastrichtse Gevelstenen

Almost from the beginning of the German occupation in 1940, Berendje Grolleman (Berendina van Assen-Grolleman) and her husband Maastricht. They helped Jews and Allied airmen escape to the south. They were active in the distribution of underground papers such as Vrij Nederland and Trouw and participated in the founding of the L.O. in Maastricht.
As a result of infiltration and treason, they were arrested on July 24, 1943, at their home at 124A Cannerweg, on charges including giving shelter to a Jewish couple.
On July 24, 1943 at 5 p.m. in the afternoon, the Sipo officers from The Hague arrested Van Assen and the Jewish couple J. Hoffnung and J. Hoffnung-Sandhaus, who were hiding with him. Mrs. B. van Assen-Grolleman met the same fate when she came back home towards evening. [1]
After a temporary detention in the Vught camp, Berendje was deported without trial to the Ravensbrück concentration camp in Germany. On February 18, 1945, she died of exhaustion under miserable circumstances. The location of her final resting place is not known.
It is a pity that Derk van Assen’s wife was not mentioned at the unveiling of the memorial cross in the Schadijk forest in Meterik. Her participation in the resistance, together with her husband Derk, is a common heroic deed. [8]
There is a Stumbling Stone (also called Stolperstein) in front of their house on Cannerweg 124 in Maastricht. [2.1]
The couple was decorated by the chief marshal of the British Air Force and the deputy commander-in-chief of the Allied Expeditionary Force for helping naval, land, and air force officers escape from captivity or evade capture by the enemy. [2.2]
On September 6, 1989, the Van Assen-Grolleman couple posthumously received the State of Israel’s Yad Vashem award. [2.1][2.3][3]
There is a tombstone with no grave in the Van Stolkspark cemetery, Buiten de Enkpoort 4A, 8061HR Hasselt, Netherlands. Grave H-03-01. Article about the tombstone with photo: Tombstone resistance heroes at Van Stolkspark cemetery restored to its former glory. [4]
The location of her final resting place is unknown. [5]
The city of Maastricht commemorates its fallen resistance fighters with street names in a neighborhood. There we also find the Van Assenstraat, in memory of these intrepid people. [6]
Berendina ( Berendje ) van Assen-Grolleman is listed in the Erelijst 1940-1945 (Honor Roll of the Dutch Parliament). [6]

Footnotes

1. Dr. F. Cammaert, Het Verborgen Front – Geschiedenis van de georganiseerde illegaliteit in de provincie Limburg tijdens de Tweede Wereldoorlog. Doctorale scriptie 1994, Groningen
   6. De Landelijke Organisatie voor hulp aan onderduikers, p.642
2. struikelsteentjes-maastricht.nl/
   1. struikelsteentjes-maastricht.nl Berendina van Assen-Grolleman
   2. Derk van Assen (1891-1943) & Berendina van Assen-Grolleman (1894–1945)
   3. Verzet uit christelijke overtuiging
3. Stolperstein, Wikipedia • Nederlands • Deutsch • English • Français • Português
4. destadskoerier.nl Grafsteen verzetshelden op begraafplaats Van Stolkspark in oude glorie hersteld
5. Monument Derk van Assen
6. Maastricht: Van Assenstraat
7. Erelijst 1940-1945
8. Oorlogsgravenstichting.nl