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33 Velperplein
Arnhem branch of the LKP
The Velperplein formed the heart of the Arnhem branch of the Landelijke Knokploegen (LKP - National Commando Teams). Toon van Daalen, owner of the Van Daalen Bros radio shop at number 8, and his neighbour electrician Johan Penseel, who had a shop at number 7, were members of this resistance group. Their shop premises were the operational basis for the resistance and regular meetings were held there by local and regional leaders of the LKP. An underground passage linked the two houses, and an escape passage to a branch of the Nederlandse (Dutch) Bank at number 9 offered a way out in the event of a raid.
Johan Penseel became involved with the resistance in the first weeks of the German occupation in 1940. In 1966 he told this in an interview with the Arnhemsche Courant (an Arnhem newspaper):
“There was a petrol pump in front of my shop in Velperplein (next to Van Daalen Bros). The Germans wanted to get their hands on the petrol. Some good people at the police station warned me, so we pumped out more than 1,500 litres of fuel and filled the tank with water. Next day numerous Austrian soldiers came to tank petrol. Our first resistance action was to send these servicemen to Belgium with water. (…..)
The first year of the occupation was fairly quiet. But then it became a difficult time for the Jews and a busy time for me. I had rented a house in Jansplaats (…..) and hid many Jewish people there. The first person to help me was a supplier of beds. One evening we went to his shop in Bakkerstraat, removed all the beds and took them to the house in Jansplaats so that we could accommodate a lot of Jewish people. Some evenings they were waiting at the door by 9 pm, and you had to find places for them. I found lodgings for hundreds.” [1]
Penseel arrested by the SD
In March 1943 Penseel was picked up by the Sichterheitsdienst (SD - Secret Police) and was interrogated several times at Utrechtsestraat 55a. The Germans had discovered that he had organized a safe house for a Jewish woman at Geitenkamp. Penseel naturally denied this:
“I was questioned by the SD at Utrechtseweg, after which I was thrown unconscious into my cell in the Huis van Bewaring (prison). I was severely beaten.
Later a young man of seventeen was put in my cell. He was a ‘plant’, put in each cell in turn to try to worm information out of prisoners. With me he came out with the lame declaration: “I would really like to be in the resistance”. I told him the same lies I had told the SD.” [2]
Penseel was released a few weeks later due to lack of evidence. After a short ’holiday’ to recover, he resumed his resistance work. His two sons Johannes and Marinus also helped. One of the Jewish girls who had been brought to them, Elizabeth Cohen, was adopted by the Penseel family and thereafter called Liesbeth. The girl’s hair was dyed blonde so as to mask her Jewish origin because people with fair hair were regarded as ‘Arian’, which met the Nazis’ ideal image.
Sabotage activities and intelligence work
Besides organizing safe addresses for Jewish people and on-the-run resistance men Penseel was also engaged in sabotage. Because he was an Elektriker (electrician) the Germans gave him the key to all the high and low voltage transformer housings in Arnhem. This was also one of the reasons why he was permitted to remain in the city after the evacuation. Even before the Battle of Arnhem Penseel had sabotaged the power supply at a number of locations:
“The Germans had an artillery battery in Zijpendaalseweg, which needed electricity to work. I put water in the connections and the thing was “kaput”. Almost at once I received a call from the Huns saying that it was indeed “kaput”. Come immediately. “It’s irreparable” I told them.” [3]
On top of all this, because of his work Penseel was able to gather valuable information, even after the evacuation. On 22 November 1944 Pieter C. Heiser, who at that time was attached to the Technische Nooddienst (Technical Emergency Service), wrote in his diary:
“Penseel shows his ausweis (permit), signed by A. Scharfenberg, Kommandant Bergungskommando Arbeitsbereich der N.S.D.A.P. Amt für Volkswohlfahrt (!), who, according to Penseel, was in charge of the general clearance of the city. Penseel receives orders from Oberfeldwebel Jouchen of the Technical Battalion and can therefore go anywhere and get a lot of information.” [4]
Other resistance centres in Arnhem
Penseel was by no means the only one involved in information gathering and sabotage. Other Arnhemmers, too, carried out resistance work. Early in 1944 it became increasingly clear that the small loose groups and individuals needed to be amalgamated. More could be achieved if everyone worked together. Albert Deuss was originally a member of the Orde Dienst (OD - Order Police), but wanted to do more than gather information about the enemy. Via an acquaintance who worked at the AKU factory in the Kleefsche Waard, he came into contact with Ir. Piet Kruyff, who later led the Arnhem LKP. Two years after the war Deuss wrote a concise history about this resistance group, which was raised in April 1944 at the request of the national LKP leader “Frank”, alias Johannes Arnoldus van Bijnen (1910-1944). [5] Later, Deuss wrote about the LKP:
“We were then visited by Frank from the top K.P [Commando Team]. He told us about the plans to use the KPs for military purposes in connection with the war developments in mainland Europe. At that time there were still no contacts in Arnhem and surroundings regarding this objective, and he asked us (Piet, Toon [van Daalen] and Bert [Deuss himself] ) if we would make this connection and take on the deployment and/or organization of small, special sabotage groups. We agreed.
Some collusion already existed in Arnhem whereby weapons and ammunition were available (collected and hidden shortly after the occupation), and experience had been gained in various directions over the years. But these earlier national contacts had been lost.
The first months after Frank’s visit were spent checking back on the contacts with the small groups we already knew. We were also contacted by the regional leadership of the L.K.P. in Apeldoorn. Furthermore, we made the necessary contacts with specialized people (at the railway, P.T.T {Post and Telegraph Office}, Waterstaat {Water Board} and P.G.E.M {Electricity Board}) who could be of importance to us in certain circumstances.
In such a way the above-mentioned contacts were informed that the regional L.K.P. would be joining us in Arnhem during August 1944, and would make use of our relations to make contact with the national commander, etc.
At the beginning of September 1944 the first assignment was received from the regional Commando, which in turn had received it from the Allied HQ in France. These were restricted principally to raids on the railway lines and connections around Arnhem. (…..)
We had contact with the parachutists within a fairly short time of their landing, and the still-working State telephone line [at Penseel’s premises] did good service. We had a small group of friends at the Telephone Exchange who had no trouble leading the elderly German guard up the garden path. At that time most subscribers had been disconnected, but when we needed a number in a specific street or district for contact or reconnaissance purposes, people at the Telegraph Office ensured a prompt connection.
We soon had telephone contact with the Airborne at the bridge and in Oosterbeek from our headquarters [of the Arnhem LKP] at Velperplein. Through our agencies they could also speak to one another over the State telephone service, and through our contacts at the P.G.E.M. we were soon able to speak by telephone with the allied ‘top brass’ south of Nijmegen. We sent messages and information through continuously, and gathered details of explosive charges at the bridge which would enable the British to disconnect the detonation system.” [6]
Johan Penseel adds:
“Nobody knew when they would come. We had dug up the weapons which had been hidden here, there and everywhere. And when the first bomb fell on the Willemskazerne the headquarters was brought to a state of readiness with great haste. An escape route had been made to the Nederlandse Bank via Van Daalen Bros, which gave us the use of four telephone lines; two at my place, one at Van Daalen Bros and one in the Nederlandse Bank.
One of these lines was used as a permanent connection with Oosterbeek, enabling contact with the airborne troops to be maintained. This went well for a while, and we sent a lot of information to the British. But we received a message to say that spying was going on, so we had to abandon the line to Oosterbeek.” [7]
By the early morning of Thursday 21 September 1944 the battle around the Rhine Bridge had ended in favour of the Germans. Most of the British parachutists were taken prisoner, but a small number managed to stay under cover. As far as is known this amounted to four men: Sergeant Harry Parker of the 3rd Parachute Battalion, and Lance Sergeant John Wallace from ‘A’ Company, Private Arthur H. Bacon from ‘B’ Company and Private Robert Peatling from HQ Company of the 2nd Parachute Battalion. Private Peatling’s story is important here because he came into contact with the resistance group of Piet Kruyff. The escapes of the others are dealt with later.
The wanderings of Private Robert Peatling
During the advance to the bridge Private Robert Peatling became separated from his own unit and in the evening of 17 September was sent with a group of soldiers from the 1st Airborne Provost Company (a military police unit) to the main police station in Bovenbeekstraat to guard German prisoners. On Tuesday 19 September a skirmish started between the British in the police station and German soldiers outside. It was an uneven struggle because the nine airborne in the police station were heavily outnumbered.
29 year-old Sergeant Henry L. Callaway of the 1st Airborne Provost Company was shot dead the moment he stepped outside to surrender. However, Private Peatling had no intention of surrendering and hid himself in the attic. [8] Over the following weeks he often went foraging for food, firstly in the office and later in other houses in Bovenbeekstraat.
Peatling found a small note book and writing materials in one of the rooms in the police station. Initially he began writing letters to his wife, but he couldn’t post them of course so he converted them into a diary. Most of his searches for food began before 4 am in the Victoria Hotel in Beekstraat. Once he found a bottle with ‘lemonade’ written on it, but it turned out to be ammonia, which gave him a blistered tongue. [9]
On Tuesday 3 October his hiding place was discovered for the first time by three policemen. Peatling confronted them with a pistol in his hand and shouted that he was a British soldier. Taken completely by surprise, they flew downstairs and left the building. Peatling quickly hid himself again. The police didn’t return and his expected arrest did not materialize. [10]
A few weeks later, on Tuesday 31 October, his hiding place was discovered again by two police officers, Inspectors H. ten Hove and Jacob D. van Maris. Ten Hove was a member of the Nationaal Socialistische Beweging, Van Maris not. Peatling met them with a pistol in one hand, and in the other a piece of paper with “Kun U mij helpen?” (Can you help me?) written on it. [11]
Ten Hove refused because he was an NSBer and had pledged an oath of allegiance to the German leader Adolf Hitler. Nevertheless he promised to say nothing to the Germans. [12] Van Maris was helpful:
“At that moment the soldier’s world seemed to have collapsed. He then asked me if I could perhaps find him a place to hide. Naturally, this was a very painful situation. Ten Hove was there taking everything in and I was more or less forced to refuse to help. “You can do what you want with him. I shan’t interfere and I don’t know anything,” said Ten Hove.
Ten Hove became angry when I said it was too risky for me. He threw the boots he had found to the floor and stomped out of the office. But in the end he didn’t betray me, and after the war that saved him from a hefty sentence.” [13]
Peatling sheltered by Johan Penseel
Van Maris promised Peatling he would come back and then left the building. He knew the electrician Johan Penseel in Velperplein and knew he belonged to a resistance group. Shortly afterwards he returned to Peatling and told him that a Dutchman would be coming with civilian clothing and would take him to a safe address. This Dutchman was Johan Penseel. Peatling described the meeting so:
“About an hour later Johan Penseel arrived with clothing for me. He identified himself with the ‘V for Victory’ knock on the door and waited while I shaved. We then left for his house at Velperplein number 7, an electrical shop. Inspector Van Maris walked on ahead with his bicycle and gave the ‘all clear’ signal at each crossing. My new hideout was a space between two rooms and above two cupboards, which could be reached via a secret door in a bedroom. Mr Penseel told me he would return with some food, wonderful!” [14]
Penseel recalled Peatling’s stay:
“I had made a hiding place between two walls of my house for my two sons, and that’s where the British parachutist stayed. He left on New Year’s Eve. However, on 2 January 1945 the two men who had taken him away [23 year-old Nico van den Oever and 24 year-old Klaas Schuttinga] were arrested. Two days later my two sons and I, along with thirteen others, were then arrested and taken to the youth detention centre in Doetinchem.
There, I was put in a one-man cell with four more ‘unlawful’ characters who had robbed a bank in Almelo in connection with the rail strike. Our deportation to Ludwigslust [Wöbbelin] camp followed quickly. More than 190 of us went there … ten survived.” [15]
Not long after Peatling’s arrival, the young resistance men Nico van den Oever and Klaas Schuttinga were lodged in the Penseel family’s house. Robert Peatling recalled his stay there:
“Christmas 1944 with the Penseel family in the vaults of the Amsterdam Bank [Nederlandse Bank] in Velperplein was a memorable one for me. They had adopted a little Jewish girl of 7 whose parents had been transported. (…..) The burgomaster [Arjen Schermer, who himself had little influence because of the presence of ever-changing town commanders] decided not to prolong my Ausweis beyond 31 December and it was thought I would be better off leaving the city. So, at 10 pm on a freezing New Year’s Eve, I said farewell to the Penseel family and, sitting on the carrier of Nico’s bike with Klaas cycling alongside, we set off for the check point in Apeldoornseweg. My Ausweis described me as a deaf and dumb electrician. Nico and Klaas did the talking, but we were all armed just in case. I was passed on to Jan Himmerling at the Woeste Hoeve and Nico and Klaas returned to Arnhem.” [16]
Arrest of Penseel and his sons
Next morning Johan Penseel and his sons had to go to the Sicherheitsdienst office. Paul Bresser, a journalist and also a member of Penseel’s resistance group, advised them not to go. Penseel decided to go anyway: he would be able to talk his way out of it as he had done many times before. But things turned out differently. All three were arrested, and Klaas Schuttinga and Nico van den Oever were picked up a day later. [17]
On 13 March 1945 Marinus Penseel died in the Wöbbelin concentration camp near Ludwigslust, Germany. His elder brother Johannes died there exactly a week later. They were 21 and 25 years old respectively. Hardly six weeks had passed when the camp was liberated by the American 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division. Klaas Schuttinga died on 3 May 1945 in the Neustadt area. [18] Johan Penseel survived his time in the Wöbbelin concentration camp, but was never the same again. His wife was the only other remaining family member.
Johan Penseel after the war
After the war Johan Penseel was nicknamed “Papa” by the Jewish evaders he helped during the war. The Penseels remained in contact with Robert Peatling and their adopted daughter Elizabeth Cohen. On 5 December 1966, Penseel - by now a widower - celebrated his 80th birthday, and in the Bet-Zikna Jewish home for the elderly in Beekstraat he was given a certificate by the Joods Nationaal Fonds (Jewish National Association). It recorded that 115 trees, initiated by a tree action in the Arnhemse Courant and financed by elderly Jewish folk, would be planted in Israel as a birthday present. Penseel was deeply moved by this gesture. “I hope what my two children and my wife did was for the wellbeing of humanity.” [19]
He passed away at his home in Amsterdam in January 1975 at the age of 88. He was buried in the Moscowa cemetery in Arnhem on 23 January. [20]
Robert Peatling after the war
The British parachutist Robert Peatling eventually ended up with the Van Dijk family in Achterveld and remained with them until mid-April 1945. He then decided to walk to the allied lines which now were much closer by. He met a patrol from the 49th Lower Edmonton Regiment and was taken to the headquarters of the Canadian 5th Armoured Division in Arnhem. His diary, which he had hidden in Achterveld, was sent to him a few weeks later. [21]
After the war Peatling kept in touch with his Dutch host families and was a fervent supporter of the monument by Pauw and Jouke Hoogland at the rear of Musis Sacrum. He returned regularly to Arnhem and in 1990 he wrote the battalion history Without Tradition, about the 2nd Parachute Battalion. His book No Surrender at Arnhem about his experiences during and after the Battle of Arnhem up to the liberation in 1945 appeared in 2004. He died at his home in Wimborne Minster on 3 February 2007.
[1] Jan C. Kuiper, ‘Verzetsstrijder papa Penseel wordt 5 okt. tachtig jaar’, Arnhemse Courant, Wednesday 28 September 1966.
[2] Ibidem.
[3] Ibidem.
[4] Diary of journalist P.C. Heiser, July 1944 - June 1945. Gelders Archive, Vroemen collection, inventory number 43 (previously B13/27).
[5] Van Bijnen was badly wounded on 28 November 1944 when he tried to free a number of other resistance people from the Koning Willem III Kazerne (barracks) in Apeldoorn. He was taken prisoner and died in a military hospital. C.M. Schulten, 'Bijnen, Johannes Arnoldus van (1910-1944)', in Biografisch Woordenboek van Nederland. URL:http://www.inghist.nl/Onderzoek/Projecten/BWN/lemmata/bwn3/bijnen Consulted on 3 March 2007.
[6] A.J.P. Deuss, Beknopte geschiedenis L.K.P. Arnhem (Arnhem, January 1946), 1 en 3. Gelders Archive, Documentation collection Second World War, inventory number 229.
[7] Kuiper, ‘Verzetsstrijder papa Penseel wordt 5 okt. tachtig jaar’.
[8] R. Peatling, No Surrender at Arnhem (Wimborne Minster, 2004), 22-24.
[9] Robert Peatling, ‘I shall never forget those brave Dutchmen’, Ministory XXII, appendix to Newsletter No. 33 of the Society of Friends of the Airborne Museum (Oosterbeek, 1989), 1. Gelders Archive, Documentation collection Second World War, inventory number 554.
[10] Peatling, No Surrender at Arnhem, 41-42.
[11] Before Operation Market Garden began the British parachutists were given a paper document with that question written on it in Dutch. They could use it in an emergency.
[12] Peatling, No Surrender at Arnhem, 61-62.
[13] ‘Inspecteur Van Maris hield Engelse parachutist wekenlang verborgen’, Arnhemsche Courant, 11 September 1984.
[14] Peatling, ‘I shall never forget those brave Dutchmen’, 2.
[15] Kuiper, ‘Verzetsstrijder papa Penseel wordt 5 okt. tachtig jaar’.
[16] Peatling, ‘I shall never forget those brave Dutchmen’, 2-3.
[17] Peatling, No Surrender at Arnhem, 130.
[18] Gelders Archive, Arnhem Council 1940-1949 archives, inventory number 390.
[19] ‘Bomen (115) voor Johan Penseel’, Arnhemse Courant, 5 December 1966.
[20] ‘Verzetsheld “papa’’ Penseel overleden’, Arnhemse Courant, 22 January 1975. ‘Sobere laatste gang van “Papa’’ Penseel, Arnhemse Courant, 24 January 1975.
[21] Peatling, ‘I shall never forget those brave Dutchmen’, 3-4.