NOTE This article is composed of information from different sources. In reproducing parts, the Foundation of Screaming Eagles of WWII has no intention of infringing upon any rights. Whenever possible the source of the information is mentioned. Please contact the Foundation if you feel any (copy)rights are violated. p.wenstedt@chello.nl.Abraham DUBOIS SOURCE: www.wikipedia.org - Dutch version Abraham du Bois (Born in Sloten, The Netherlands, April 12th, 1916 - † Woeste Hoeve, Apeldoorn, The Netherlands March 8th 1945) was a Dutch resistance fighter during WWII. Du Bois was a so-called "Engelandvaarder" (young Dutch man who fled to England at the outbreak of the war in The Netherlands in order to be able to join the allied fighting forces) and 1st Lieutenant (Reserve) of Infantry in the Dutch army. Dubois received training and was attached to the Dutch Bureau of Special Assignments (Bureau Bijzondere Opdrachten) as a member of the Dutch Princess Irene Brigade. He parachuted twice into The Netherlands during WWII. The first time was a SAS Jedburgh mission on September 17th, 1944 and the second time for the Bureau of Special Assignments in combination with MI9 on October 16th, 1944. Dubois was arrested by the German occupying forces on December 4th, 1944. He was executed at the Woeste Hoeve near Apeldoorn in The Netherlands four months later. Dubois received the (Dutch) Bronze Lion, the (Dutch) Resistance Memorial Cross and the (U.S.) Medal of Freedom posthumously and post-war. His last resting place is the mausoleum on the "Paasberg" in Ede, The Netherlands. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Introduction and background Jedburgh teams SOURCE: http://get-me.to/september1944 In the summer of 1944, Allied special operations teams known as Jedburghs, parachuted into occupied Europe to cooperate with resistance groups behind German lines and to aid in the advance of Allied ground forces. Each of the ninety-nine Jedburgh teams consisted of three specially trained volunteers. Clandestine operations of the kind that the Jedburghs conducted often have been recounted in memoirs and novels, but only a portion of the actual operational records have been declassified. The "Jeds", as they called themselves, were but one group charged with clandestine work. The task of the Jedburgh teams was to pass on ( last-minute) intelligence supplied by the resistance networks to the various tactical commanders. Some of the Resistance cells were aware to some extent of Operation Market-Garden before its implementation, but the decentralized nature of the underground network guaranteed that not everyone would know the time and place of the attack. After Operation Market Garden began, those resistance fighters previously unaware of the operation reacted by mobilizing their cells and recovering arms caches. The Allies felt they could not trust the Resistance much, aware of the danger of German infiltration by the Germans. The Jedburgh teams constituted a "strategic reserve" in order to provide training, weapons and communication to resistance groups. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TEAM DANIEL Team Daniel was assigned to the U.S. 101st Airborne Division and dropped near the village of Son in The Netherlands on September 17th, 1944. The team's radios were lost during the jump so the team was unable to contact their headquarters in England. Team Daniel consisted of four men: Lt Abraham Dubois (Dutch) Sgt Lykele Faber (Dutch) Major Wilson (British) Radio operator Mason (British)
Sgt Lykele Faber recalls: "The first mission came rather quick. With the Dutch Captain Bram Dubois, an English Major Wilson and a wireless radio operator called Mason, we jumped on September 17th together with the 101st US Airbornes near Son as part of the Operation Market Garden. We never found our radio transmitters, so therefore weren't able to send anything. I was a liason officer and guarded German prisoners. I never was able to bring any messages because of the cross fire of the German and British artillery. After 5 weeks, the four of us went by car to Brussels, from there we went to England again. Bram Dubois and I were invited to meet the Dutch Queen (Wilhelmina). We described the situation and told her what happened in and around Son. Also Princess Juliana was present. I had a tear in my trousers, but couldn't fix it before I went to see her." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SOURCE : The following article is freely translated and edited but originated from the Dutch magazine "Vaandeldrager", year of publication unknown. Because the information in the article is important in understanding more about Abraham Dubois and the circumstances of his death, excerpts of the article are reproduced here. In reproducing parts of the article, the Foundation of Screaming Eagles of WWII has no intention of infringing upon any rights. Please contact the Foundation if you feel this is the case : p.wenstedt@chello.nl. Lieutenant Bram Du Bois and the execution at "De Woeste Hoeve", The Netherlands In August 1944 Abraham Dubois was still part of the Dutch army unit called the "Prinses Irene Brigade". Only six months later he was one of the victims of the mass execution which took place at "The Woeste Hoeve" near Apeldoorn, The Netherlands. The following is a letter written by J. Rijkens from Beilen, The Netherlands. Mr Rijkens was Captain and sports instructor with the "Prinses Irene Brigade". In this letter Mr Rijkens describes his memories of Abraham Dubois. Mr Rijkens: "I have known Abraham Dubois from the beginning of the "Brigade" in Porthcawl. The "Brigade" was then still called the Dutch Legion. Dubois was a pleasant, joyful but serious chap on whom you could rely. After a while Dubois disappeared to London or "somewhere". In the spring of 1944, in London, I suddenly ran into Dubois. After a few drinks we decided to have dinner. During the conversation we had, I drew the conclusion that he was going on missions in occupied Holland. Afterwards, I didn't give him another thought until, in September 1944, during Operation Market-Garden, when our column had to wait at the bridge at Son, Dubois suddenly turned up. He had jumped into occupied Holland with an American Airborne Division close to the bridge at Son. Our conversation at the time couldn't last long as the command to "move on" came within minutes. We waved goodbye and that was the last time I saw Dubois. Later I came to understand that Dubois had been arrested in occupied Holland by the Germans and eventually executed near "The Woeste Hoeve". The fact that Dubois and his memory receives attention at the moment has my full support."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SOURCE: W. Beens from Apeldoorn, The Netherlands The 117 dead at the "Woeste Hoeve" INTRODUCTION On the 8th of March 1945, when the allied armies, including the Dutch Prinses Irene Brigade, were in the middle of the last battles to free occupied Holland of the Germans, the largest mass execution during World War II in Holland took place near "The Woeste Hoeve" close Apeldoorn, The Netherlands. An incredible blood bath took place there in the early morning hours of that day. To those who are not so familiar with the area: the "Woeste Hoeve" (meaning "wild or rugged ranch") is a hamlet on the road from Apeldoorn to Arnhem in The Netherlands. During the Second World War an inn called "Woeste Hoeve" was situated on the road which connected both places. THE ASSAULT In those days, Dutch resistance workers had one major problem: transportation. This became evident on the evening of the 6th March 1945. Information had come in that 3000 kilograms of pork was to be transported from the town of Epe to Germany. Meat which was meant for the German army. It was to be transported by truck. The resistance workers decided to steal this meat transport. Food was needed badly. There were many mouths to feed (many Jews and allied military men were hidden in the area). Also, the Northern part of The Netherlands at the time was cut off from main German supply lines which caused the winter of 1944/1945 to be called the "Hunger Winter". The problem, as mentioned, was transportation. Six resistance workers were assigned to the job. The simple plan was designed where they would wear German uniforms and ride a German truck to the butchers' in order to load the meat before the Germans would get there. The only thing missing in the daring plan was a German truck. The group of six left around 9.45 PM that night on their bikes for the "Woeste Hoeve". There was a large chance of a German truck riding on the road between Arnhem to Apeldoorn because the frontline was close to Arnhem in those days. The six men belonged to the G.G. group, it's name deriving from it's leader. They often took on the most dangerous and difficult tasks. Two of the six men were deserted ex-S.S. men, Austrian by birth. They were skilled soldiers whose mother tongue was German. Five of the men were clad in S.S. uniforms. The sixth wore his daily police uniform (Koninklijke Marechaussee). Each of them was armed with a Stengun. The leader also possessed a Walther pistol. On their destinated location, the group hid their bicycles, checked their weapons and waited. It was around 11.00 PM. Their was little traffic at this hour of the night. Around the same time, a grey B.M.W. had left the town of Didam near Arnhem. In it were the S.S. leader Hanns Albin Rauter, his driver and Oberleutnant Exner. Rauter was the commander of the German (and Dutch) police force in The Netherlands during World War Two. Rauter was in the front seat, next to the driver. Near the "Woeste Hoeve" a bright light suddenly lit up the car. Rauter saw two uniformed men stopping the car. This must have surprised him as he himself (with the permission of the German high command) had given the order about two weeks prior to the incident that outside of towns in occupied Holland no cars were to be stopped and checked. The group of six, in turn, was surprised too. No truck but a German car with open top had been stopped. German uniforms inside the car. Fast decisions and actions needed to be taken. Rauter, mistrusting, grabbed his machinegun and gave Exner, also with machinegun, the order to give him cover. It was obvious to the group of six that they were in for trouble. The leader of the group jumped onto the hood of the car and fired through the windscreen. Then a burst of machinegun and then nothing. Afterwards, 234 casings were found. The car had 70 bullet holes. Of the group of six, no one was hurt. Oberleutnant Exner had multiple bullet wounds. The driver had been mortally wounded in the head. Rauter, to the contrary, was still alive. He had been seriously wounded by a shot in the jaw, two in the lungs, in the thigh and right hand. The group checked the car's passengers and assumed all occupants dead. About 5 hours later, the car was discovered and Rauter was taken to hospital, weakened by blood loss and cold. The assault on Rauter was not intentional. The German revenge, however, would be horrific. THE EXECUTION Two days later, on the 8th March 1945, around 8.00 AM, 117 people were transported to the location of the assault by busses and trucks. Prisoners from various locations throughout occupied Holland. A firing squad of 50 German "Grüne Polizei"were waiting for them. The commanding officer is recorded to have read the reason for the execution. A well-known Dutch member of the "Sicherheits Dienst"translated. Apparently, previous to the execution, the commanding officer also addressed the firing squad on the responsibility they were about to take. One of the members of the squad, name unknown, but an Oberwachtmeister from the Apeldoorn's Ordnungspolizei, is thought to have refused to take part. The fact that the firing squad was addressed in this manner is not verified and open to discussion. In those days the motto was "Befehl ist Befehl". One of the prisoners tried to escape - he was shot on the spot. At 8.30 AM, 117 dead lay strewn on the side of the road. A sign was placed which read "This is how we deal with terrorists". Passing bicyclist were forced to walk by and look in the direction of the execution place. Dutch police officers from the Apeldoorn police arrived around 2 PM. They cut the ropes with which the victims were tied and started the identification process. When about 30 persons were identified, the Germans ordered their work to be stopped. The 117 dead were transported to Apeldoorn and buried in a mass grave. A total of 263 persons were executed all over The Netherlands that day in a revenge action by the Germans. 117 at the "Woeste Hoeve", 38 in The Hague (among whom a 15 year old boy), 6 in Utrecht, 53 in Amsterdam and 49 in Amersfoort. Over the years, 115 of the 117 dead were identified. A lot of research has been done to the identity of the 2 unknowns. 56% of the 117 were younger than 34 years of age. Three of them had had their birthday the day before the execution. The youngest was a 17 year old Jewish boy named Julius. The oldest was the 75 year old Matthew. Rauter, in the mean time, completely recovered from his wounds. He was arrested on the May 11th, 1945. He was sentenced to death on May 4th, 1948. He was executed by a Dutch firing squad on March 25th 1949." BACK