Diet Eman: A Crisis of Faith

Diet Eman (courtesy of Diet Eman)

At Vught (a Dutch concentration camp), Diet was given a job cleaning bloody civilian clothing. As she was handed these garments, day after day, she made enquiries and discovered that she was washing the clothes of executed Dutch resistance men. She examined the clothing closely and discovered that the bullet holes were at the abdomen level. The resistance men had been deliberately shot in a manner that would cause a long, agonizing death.

At this point Diet's hatred for the Nazis ballooned until it threatened the very core of her Christian identity. It seemed that the painful execution of these Dutch men was the only reward she would ever know for all her Resistance work and her fervent prayers for everyone's safety. She began to doubt God's goodness and became physically paralyzed for several days.

Soon it was time for Diet's hearing. A fellow prisoner had promised to "storm the gates of heaven" for Diet so that her hearing would go well. As Diet went through the hearing, pretended to be uneducated Willie Laarman, she gradually realized that the healthy German officers seated comfortably in that room, who were there to decide her fate, were the real prisoners, not she. She became convinced that God was on her side. Her hatred for these Germans melted into pity, and she was filled with an overwhelming peace. 

She answered all of the questions asked of her with her carefully memorized details. Finally, when she was finished, one of the Germans who hadn't said a word during the session looked at her closely and said, "I have done nothing else my whole life by hearings and interrogations. That is my area of expertise...and I have developed a sixth sense. I can feel what is true and what isn't true. I can't put a needle through your story. It fits--all the way through. .But my sixth sense tells me it's all made up."

Excerpt from "Diet Eman: Courier for the Dutch Resistance" from Women Heroes of World War II. 

Hazel Ying Lee: Flying for China

Hazel at the Portland Flying Club, 1932.

Museum of Chinese in America (MOAC)

When Japan invaded Manchuria, the large northern province of China, in September, 1931, it caused great concern for people who lived thousands of miles away: Chinese Americans, many of whom had settled on the West Coast of the United States.

The Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association in Portland, Oregon, decided to take action: it raised $20,000 and donated it to the local Chinese Flying Club in order to train young Chinese Americans to fly in Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek's air force...

In March, 1933, Hazel and 16 other Portland Flying Club trainees left for China. But when she arrived, Hazel was told that the Chinese Air Force would not allow any woman pilots to fly military missions. Why? The Chinese Air Force officers claimed "women are erratic in combat."

Hazel was given a desk job with the Chinese Commission on Aeronautical Affairs and also flew for commercial flights, sometimes flying Soong Mei-ling, wife of the Generalissimo from place to place. She also flew over highly populated areas, dropping pro-Chinese leaflets to encourage Chinese resolve against the Japanese.

Her base of operation eventually became the populous southern city of Canton, where she opened a school for her young Chinese relatives. 

Hazel was still in China in 1937 when the Japanese began their campaign to conquer the entire country. When Canton was bombed in the spring of 1938, Hazel found safe shelter for herself and her family. Her friend Elsie Chang asked why she seemed so fearless. "If everybody else is afraid," Hazel replied, "there has to be somebody that could take over. And I'm the one to take over."

From "Hazel Ying Lee: American Flygirl" from Women Heroes of World War II. 

Hazel Ying Lee: WASP

Hazel is pictured on the left

The WASPs often faced serious hazards. One of the most perilous tasks for any stateside flier was ferrying what were called "war weary" planes, those that needed repairs or replacement. No one knew if they would stay in working condition on the way to being refurbished. But someone had to fly then. and WASPs often did.

Flying seven days a week in all sorts of weather and at high altitudes could also be dangerous, or, as in Hazel's case, at least hazardous to one's health. On October 14, 1944, she was grounded due to a severe respiratory infection. Chafing with impatience, she wrote a letter to Inez Woodward, a fellow WASP who had also graduated in the 43-W-4 class and who had worked with Hazel at Romulus.

In the letter, Hazel told Inez that she had received an offer from he former employer, the Chinese Commission on Aeronautical Affairs. Hazel wrote that she hoped to recruit ex-WASPs to fly in China. They had to have new plans because by now they had all received word that the WASP program would be disbanded in December.

Although Hazel seemed filled with hope for the future, the war was taking a toll on her. Sometime in 1944, she wrote a letter to her friend Elsie Chang, telling her that "this war is going on too long. I don't know whether I will make it or not."

From "Hazel Ying Lee: American Flygirl from Women Heroes of World War II: 32 Stories of Espionage, Sabotage, Resistance, and Rescue. 

Anna Yegorova: A Close Call

One day Anna was ordered to fly to the first Cavalry Corps--they needed a radio. But when she landed in the designated village, she didn't see them anywhere. Leaving the plane running, she ran to a nearby hut, tapping on the window to ask for information. An old man opened the door.

"Grandfather," Anna asked politely, "have our troops been through here?"

"Run away from here, Sonny," urged the old man, mistaking Anna for a man. "The Germans are here! They got here late last night!"

Anna turned around. There were Germans standing near the tent hut, their backs to her. But she couldn't seem to move her legs. The old man gave her a push, which did the trick. Anna ran to her plane and took off. Below her, she heard the crackle of machine gunfire. She looked down. The old man was lying facedown in the snow. And the Germans were now taking aim at her.

Excerpt from "Anna Yegorova: Soviet Pilot" from Women Heroes of World War II: 32 Stories of Espionage, Sabotage, Resistance, and Rescue. 

Melitta von Stauffenberg and the plot to kill Hitler

Melitta at an airfield, 1934.

Courtesy of Gerhard Bracke from his book, 

Melitta Grafin Stauffenberg: Das Leben Einer Fligerin

On May 21, 1944, Melitta wrote in her diary: "Early call, Claus, Berthold, Haeften, finally came to an agreement." Melitta, the two Stauffenberg brothers, and their close friend, Werner von Haeften, spent a long day together, swimming and sailing, activities that insured their conversations could not be overheard. On that day, most likely, Claus related to Melitta his plan to assassinate Hitler and overthrow the Nazi government. He asked if she would be willing to fly him to Hitler's military headquarters in the forests of East Prussia in order to do the deed, then fly him directly back to Berlin to announce the fuhrer's death and complete the coup.

Melitta agreed immediately.

She was now involved in aerodynamic tests designed to intercept Allied bombers. Her work, she felt, would save the lives of German Luftwaffe pilots and the German civilians being killed in the Allied raids. She was in no way trying to support Hitler. Quite the opposite--she blamed him for all these deaths, telling her trusted friends that he "needed to disappear as soon as possible."

From Melitta von Stauffenberg: "The Plot to Kill Hitler" from Women Heroes of World War II: 32 Stories of Espionage, Sabotage, Resistance, and Rescue. 

Hannah Senesh: Parachuting into Yugoslavia

Hannah and her brother, the day before she left to train with the British in Cairo. 

On the night of May 13, 1944, a plane took off carrying the first members of the Hungarian team, including Hannah and Reuven Dafne, a young Palmach man who had fought with the British Army and was the team's leader.

Reuven had his doubts about the ultimate success of the mission, but Hannah's intense optimism affected him. As they flew to Yugoslavia, Reuven saw that her face "exuded happiness and excitement."

The roar of the plane's motor made conversation impossible, but just before Reuven jumped, Hannah, her face "wreathed in a smile," gave him a thumbs-up. She jumped right after him but was blown far from Reuven's landing spot because she was lighter than he was.

After the the partisans found them, the team walked four days to headquarters, where they learned the German invasion of Hungary had just occurred. Their rescue mission now seemed impossible.

"We are late, we are late," Hannah cried. What will happen to all of them...to the million Jews in Hungary? They're in German hands now--and we're sitting here...just sitting."

Excerpt from "Hannah Senesh: British Paratrooper" from Women Heroes of World War II: 32 Stories of Espionage, Sabotage, Resistance, and Rescue. 

Sophie Scholl's day in court

Hans Scholl, Sophie Scholl, Christoph Probst,

Munich Train Station, July 23, 1942

"On February 22, 1943, a German university student named Sophie Scholl, her brother Hans, and one of their friends, Christoph Probst, were awaiting trial in the "People's Court" in the Munich Palace of Justice. The judge who was to preside over their case, Roland Freisler, suddenly swaggered into the courtroom, dramatically dressed in flowing red robes. Judge Freisler was known as the hanging judge because he passed death sentences on nearly everyone tried in his court.


This trial, its audience filled with those loyal to Hitler's Third Reich, looked like it would be no exception. Judge Freisler opened the proceedings with a furious and demented tirade, making great billowing gestures with his robes and screaming that the defendants were guilty of treason, conspiracy, rendering the armed forces unfit to protect the German Reich, giving aid to the enemy, and weakening the will of the German people.


The defendants were not given a chance to speak on their own behalf, but in the midst of the judge's tirade, Sophie suddenly cried out, 'Somebody had to make a start! What we said and wrote are what many people are thinking. They just don't dare say it out loud!'"


Opening paragraphs from "Sophie Scholl: The White Rose" from Women Heroes of World War II.