GOD WON, I LOST
The Practice of Resistance — The Rise and Destruction of the Stijkel Group
This chapter recounts the formation, operation, betrayal, and destruction of one of the earliest Dutch resistance networks during the German occupation of the Netherlands in the Second World War. The text has been translated from Dutch, revised for clarity and narrative force for an American readership, and annotated for historical context.
The Birth of Resistance
The German invasion of the Netherlands in May 1940 was swift and overwhelming. After only five days, organized military resistance had collapsed. Yet for many Dutch citizens, the struggle had only begun. Quietly, almost instinctively, the first acts of civilian resistance began to take shape.
Among the earliest and most significant of these efforts was what later became known as the Stijkel Group, named after its founder, Johannes (Han) Stijkel. Though still little understood in the chaotic first days of occupation, this group would become one of the foundational networks of the Dutch underground.
Few people grasped, in the early morning hours of May 10, 1940, just how catastrophic the German invasion would be. Han Stijkel did. Drawing on his extensive personal connections—across civilian administration, the military, and the church—he moved with urgency. Those who knew him described a man of authority, discipline, and moral seriousness, driven by a sense of duty rather than ambition.
Within days, Stijkel began laying the groundwork for an organized underground. He believed resistance could not be improvised; it required structure, discipline, and above all unity.
Faith, Authority, and Organization
Stijkel’s leadership style was uncompromising. Nothing was done independently. Orders flowed from the center outward. Each province had its contact person, and all actions were coordinated.
This centralization extended beyond immediate resistance. Stijkel envisioned a shadow civil and military administration, prepared to assume authority after liberation. He also sought to establish a reliable intelligence service, capable of supplying information to the Allies.
Faith played a crucial role in his leadership. Those close to him testified that he believed God had entrusted him with a specific task. He refused to endanger others lightly and insisted on moral responsibility even in clandestine operations. When weapons were hidden, witnesses were sworn to silence on a Bible—not theatrically, but solemnly.
His convictions earned him trust. Influential figures—military officers, civil servants, and church leaders—placed themselves under his guidance.
The Search for England
From the beginning, Stijkel believed that Dutch resistance could not succeed without contact with England, where the Dutch government-in-exile resided. On May 10, 1940, he went directly to the British legation in The Hague. He asked the essential question:
To what extent can we rely on English support—and when?
No clear answer could be given. London itself was in chaos, overwhelmed by refugee governments, the evacuation at Dunkirk, and relentless German bombing. Still, Stijkel pressed on.
Together with his close associate Cornelis Gude, he attempted to establish radio contact with England. Messages were sent. None were answered.
Unbeknownst to them, British intelligence procedures were already dangerously compromised. What later became infamous as the “Englandspiel”—a German counterintelligence operation that captured and manipulated Allied radio traffic—was beginning to unfold.
Betrayal and the Scheveningen Harbor
In early April 1941, plans were made to send Stijkel, Gude, and others to England by fishing boat. Critical documents—factory drawings, military codes, and intelligence reports—were packed into a suitcase. Leaving them behind was debated, but no safe alternative existed.
On a dark evening, the men boarded the fishing vessel K.W. 133 in Scheveningen harbor. The atmosphere was tense but quiet. Lines were cast off. Slowly, the boat moved toward open water.
Then, suddenly, a searchlight flared at the harbor entrance.
“Control!”
The trap had been set.
Escape was impossible. Panic and decision collided in seconds. One man jumped overboard and swam to safety. Han Stijkel leapt ashore and ran—only to be stopped by a man speaking German.
“Stijkel?”
“Yes.”
“Hands up.”
The cold barrel of a revolver pressed against his chest.
The Stijkel Group had been betrayed.
Mass Arrests and Collapse
The German Security Service (SD) moved swiftly and thoroughly. Radio equipment was recovered. Addresses were uncovered. Arrest followed arrest.
Entire resistance networks vanished behind prison walls. Many members knew Stijkel only by aliases; some did not even know he had been captured. Informers—Dutch collaborators—played a decisive role in guiding the Germans from one arrest to the next.
Interrogations began immediately. The notorious Gestapo officer Lorenz applied extreme pressure. Yet the prisoners held firm. No names were given. No confessions obtained.
Stijkel himself accepted full responsibility, hoping to spare others.
Trial and Execution
In September 1942, the case was brought before the Reich Court Martial in Berlin. Proceedings were conducted in secrecy. No Dutch lawyers were permitted to defend the accused.
The charges included espionage, aiding the enemy, and violating military discipline. Stijkel fought relentlessly for his men, insisting that he alone bore responsibility. His efforts failed.
Thirty-nine death sentences were pronounced.
Execution was delayed for months. Families clung to hope that the war would end in time.
It did not.
On June 4, 1943, at Tegel Prison in Berlin, the sentences were carried out. Thirty-nine men were executed by firing squad.
They refused blindfolds. As they waited, they sang the Dutch national anthem, the Wilhelmus, and a Lutheran hymn.
Han Stijkel died first. Cornelis Gude followed minutes later. At five-minute intervals, the others were killed.
A German chaplain later said:
“A nation that produces such men must be a great people.”
Faith Beyond Death
In his final letter to his father, Stijkel wrote:
“Let no one be troubled by this exchange of life. Freed from the material body, I enter eternal life. Beyond birth and beyond death stands the certainty of the eternal Kingdom of the Logos. Throughout my life on earth, I have been conscious of the spark of God within me.”
After the war, the bodies were returned to the Netherlands and buried at Westduin Cemetery in The Hague. Forty-three crosses stand together, with Stijkel’s at the center. Each day, the Dutch flag is lowered in mourning and raised again at dusk.
Aftermath and Judgment
In 1949, two principal informers were tried before a special court in The Hague. Prosecutors demonstrated that their betrayal directly led to arrests, executions, and deaths in concentration camps.
The death penalty was demanded but not imposed. Both men were sentenced to long prison terms.
Justice, though imperfect, was at last rendered.
Historical Notes and Annotations
1. The Stijkel Group
One of the earliest organized resistance networks in the Netherlands. Unlike later groups, it sought immediate coordination with the government-in-exile and envisioned a post-liberation administrative structure.
2. Englandspiel (“England Game”)
A catastrophic counterintelligence operation in which German intelligence captured Allied radio operators and used their transmissions to entrap resistance networks across occupied Europe.
3. SD (Sicherheitsdienst)
The intelligence arm of the SS, responsible for counterintelligence, political repression, and mass arrests in occupied territories.
4. Tegel Prison
A major execution site near Berlin used by the Nazi regime for political prisoners.
5. Wilhelmus
The Dutch national anthem, associated with resistance and national identity during the occupation.
End of Chapter 2
God Won, I Lost 