Willem Johan Cornelis 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.

Arondéus was openly gay before the war and defiantly asserted his sexual orientation before his execution. His last words were: "Tell people that homosexuals are not cowards."

Early life

Willem Johan Cornelis Arondéus was born in Naarden, as the youngest son of an Amsterdam fuel trader. His parents were Hendrik Cornelis Arondéus and Catharina Wilhelmina de Vries. He started working as an illustrator, designer of posters and tapestries and a painter. In 1923 he was commissioned to paint a large mural for Rotterdam City Hall. A major detriment to the success of these forgeries was the Municipal Office for Population Registration as its existence made the forgeries less useful, since their legitimacy could be checked against the registration lists and determined to be fakes. Arondéus and van der Veen, along with a number of associates, developed a plan to destroy the registration office.), 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.

On 18 June 1943, Arondéus was tried and sentenced to death, along with 13 other men who participated. Two of the group received clemency, but the others were executed on 1 July 1943. (In Dutch: "")

Legacy

In 1945, after the liberation of the Netherlands, Arondéus's family was awarded a posthumous medal by the Dutch government in his honour.

In National Geographic's biographical World War II drama miniseries A Small Light, Willem Arondéus is played by Sean Hart.

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Willem Arondeus - Salome - Metropolitan Museum.jpg|Salome, 1916

Willem Arondéus - potloodtekening.jpg|Pencil drawing

Willem Arondeus - Bloesems belofte wordt nu in oogsten vervuld, september - Rijksmuseum Amsterdam - RP-T-1930-87.jpg|Calendar design for September, drawing, 1930–31

Willem Arondeus - De beker van het najaar is met weemoed gevuld, october - Rijksmuseum Amsterdam - RP-T-1930-88.jpg|Calendar design for October, drawing, 1930–31

Willem Arondeus - Op vleugelen van storm nadert de winter - Rijksmuseum Amsterdam - RP-T-1930-89.jpg|Calendar design for November, drawing, 1930–31

Willem Arondeus - Ter ruste neigt het jaar in mantel van koude, december - Rijksmuseum Amsterdam - RP-T-1930-90.jpg|Calendar design for December, drawing, 1930–31

Willem Arondeus, Brieftelegrammen, een gevleugeld woord 1937-1938.jpg|, 1937–38

Willem Arondeus - Ontwerp affiche zomerpostzegel - Rijksmuseum Amsterdam - RP-T-1938-9.jpg|Design for a stamp, 1938

File:Willem Arondéus - Purgatorium - Ink and chalk on paper - 41 x 26 cm.jpg| Purgatory, ink and chalk on paper, 1943

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Biographies

  • Dantzig, Rudi van: Het leven van Willem Arondéus 1894-1943: een documentaire. Amsterdam, 2003.
  • Entrop, Marco: Onbekwaam in het compromis. Willem Arondéus, kunstenaar en verzetsstrijder. Amsterdam, 1993.
  • O'Corra, Simon, Arondeus, A Play, Sachet Mixte Press, France, 2017
  • O'Corra, Simon, Perfidious, A Play, Sachet Mixte Press, Spain, 2019

References

  • Biography (in Dutch)
  • Stephen Fry: Willem & Frieda - Defying Nazis (documentary film)