Have you ever heard of Freddie Oversteegan? She’s the teenage Dutch girl who helped to assassinate the Nazis during World War II. Using powers of seduction, Freddie and her sister Truus slyly lured Nazi men to a clandestine meeting point in the woods to meet their end at the hands of resistance fighters. Her story is truly incredible and shines a bright light on the many unsung heroes of WWII.

Girls with guns

Born on September 6, 1925, Freddie Oversteegen grew up in the town of Schoten in the Netherlands with older sister Truus. Her family lived on a barge before the war and they struggled financially. Following Freddie’s parents’ divorce, her mother taught her communist values. The family moved off of the barge and into a small apartment.

When Freddie was 14-years-old, Haarlem Council of Resistance leader Frans van der Wiel paid a visit to her home. He asked her mother if Freddie and Truus would join the Dutch resistance fight. Although it was uncommon for many women to join the movement in that region, Freddie’s mother granted them permission to join up. Apparently, no one would ever suspect such beautiful young women to be trained fighters. The two teenagers signed up and were taught military tactics such as shooting and marching in the forest. The Oversteegans and other girls became a critical part of the Dutch resistance movement.

#Resist

When World War II began, Freddie’s family actually concealed a Jewish couple at their place. Freddie and her sister also distributed anti-Nazi propaganda. Additionally, the two sisters and their pal Hannie Schaft did their own part to stop the Nazis by using dynamite to blow up bridges and railroad lines. They also helped young Jewish kids by sneaking them into another country or by assisting their breakouts from Nazi concentration camps. The girls would even kill German officers themselves by shooting them as they rode by on bikes.

Freddie and the other young resistance fighters would also visit pricey bars that were known to be Nazi hangouts. Freddie would approach a Nazi man and seduce him with her feminine wiles. After he was completely smitten, Freddie would invite him on an evening walk. During their stroll, she led the Nazi into the woods, where a resistance fighter would be waiting for them to chastise them for entering the forest. Once they turned to leave, the resistance fighter would gun the Nazi down. The rest of the resistance crew would dig a grave for the Nazi, take his clothes off, and toss them into the hole. According to Freddie, the women were forbidden to watch the Nazi burial. Once he was buried, the girls’ fatal attraction mission was complete.

Freddie’s impact

Following World War II, Freddie went on to live a normal life, to marry Jan Dekker, and to give birth to three kids. Her sister Truus founded the National Hannie Schaft Foundation in honor of their friend Hannie Schaft. Freddie served as a board member for this foundation. The two sisters with given the Mobilisation War Cross by Mark Rutte, Dutch Prime Minister, in 2014. This Dutch medal was awarded to the Oversteegan girls in honor of their valor during wartime. They even named a street after Freddie in the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands.

Unfortunately, Freddie suffered from serious health issues in her old age. Despite jogging every day, she had undergone several heart attacks. She passed away on September 5, 2018, at a retirement home in the town of Driehuis in the Netherlands. She would’ve turned 93 years-old on the following day. Although Freddie’s gone, her bravery will never be forgotten.