May his memory be a blessing.
Willem Arondéus (22 August 1894 – 1 July 1943) was a Dutch artist and author who joined the Dutch anti-Nazi resistance movement during World War II. He participated in the bombing of the Amsterdam public records office to hinder the Nazi German effort to identify Dutch Jews and others wanted by the Gestapo. Arondéus was caught and executed soon after his arrest. Yad Vashem recognized Arondéus as Righteous Among the Nations.
Their attack, which took place on 27 March 1943, was partially successful, and they managed to destroy 800,000 identity cards, and retrieve 600 blank cards and 50,000 guilders. The building was blown up and no one was caught on the night of the attack. However, due to an unknown betrayer, Arondéus was arrested on 1 April 1943. Arondéus refused to give up the rest of his team.
Arondéus was openly gay before the war and defiantly asserted his sexuality before his execution. His final words were:
"Tell the people that homosexuals are not by definition weak."
From Wikipedia
He was also a pretty great artist
Reblog to include his artwork!
May his memory be a blessing
May this be a teaching to all those Americans that are afraid of annihilating Authoritarianism in the U.S.A.
