The fallen resistance people in Limburg

Harrie Tobben
(Hendrikus Hubertus)

Het Grote Gebod – L.O.

Harrie Tobben was a former soldier and after his demobilization by the Germans in 1940 member of the mine police. Was involved, among other things, in acts of sabotage in the Oranje-Nassau Mine I (O.N. I) in Heerlen, which was uncovered by the SiPo. In June 1942, on the advice of police friends, he went into hiding in Baexem, but just continued to help fugitives.
He was engaged to the resistance woman Jet van Oijen.
With the help of Tobben and Van Ooijen, the Jews were brought to Mrs. J.M. Pulskens in Tilburg. Miss Van Ooijen was probably at the beginning of the latter contact. Bongaerts’ people soon also accompanied airmen to this Tilburg transit house. Even before he went into hiding, Tobben made contact with his cousin J.A.A. van Ass in the hamlet of De Weerd near Roermond. Van Ass’s house was an important transit house for prisoners of war, Jews, airmen and other refugees. Thanks to this new connection, the group from Heerlen came into contact with pilot helpers in the Roermond and Weert regions. [4]
From the speech by Dr. Fred Cammaert at the unveiling of the memorial plaque (dead link) at the Peace Carillon): Under the inspiring leadership of Charles Bongaerts, he and other former military personnel devoted themselves to all manner of resistance activities, ranging from aiding Jews, Allied airmen, and those in hiding (the so called divers), to gathering weapons and intelligence information, to producing and distributing illegal magazines and acts of sabotage. As a result of infiltrating by provocateurs in German service (Englandspiel), he was arrested on August 6, 1943. [1]
See also the story of Aunt Coba. [2]



Jet van Oijen & HarrieTobben
Regionaal Archief Tilburg, Coba Pulskens

Footnotes

1. Englandspiel
2. 1. De Pilotenhelpsters (pdf)
   2. Coba Pulskens
   3. wikimiddenbrabant.nl Jet van Oijen
3. Dr. F. Cammaert, Het Verborgen Front – Geschiedenis van de georganiseerde illegaliteit in de provincie Limburg tijdens de Tweede Wereldoorlog. Doctorale scriptie 1994, Groningen
   4. Hulpverlening aan geallieerde piloten en hun bemanningsleden, p.242
4. Oorlogsgravenstichting.nl
5. https://www.genealogieonline.nl/stamboom-baas-vanheeswijck/I50782.php
6. Wikipedia NL: Harrie Tobben