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Ordedienst
During World War II (WWII), the Ordedienst, 1 or OD,
was one of three 2 important
clandestine resistance organisations in The Netherlands.
It was established in 1940 with the intent to act as an interim
law-enforcement service
in the case of a sudden retreat of the German occupant.
In practice however,
the OD mainly provided intelligence to the Dutch Government
in London (UK).
The OD was established in 1940 at the initiative of
Johan Hendrik Westerveld [2]. It was formed by merging the activities
of several (local) resistance organisations that had emerged in the
country since the outbreak of the war.
It had 19 discricts that were
largely independent. Although many of the OD members had a military
background, the organisation had a non-military signature [7].
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Literally translated: Order Service.
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The other two being Raad van Verzet (RVV)
and Landelijke Knokploegen (LKP).
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At the time (1940), the general opinion was that the war wouldn't last
very long, and that the country might suffer from a power vacuum,
in case of a sudden retreat by the Germans. Should this indeed happen,
the OD regarded it their task to act as an interim law-enforcement service
until the Dutch government had returned and
the official enforcement services had been restored.
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It soon became clear however, that the idea of a post-war Order Service was
not very realistic, after which the OD transformed itself into a
resistance organisation, for example
by sabotaging (German) railway and communications networks. More importantly
however, the OD concentrated on the collection of intelligence in the
occupied country, which was then sent via
clandestine radio networks
to the Dutch Government – including
Queen Wilhelmina – in exile in London (UK).
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The headquarters of the organisation, known as AHK-OD,
and was initially located in The Hague, the administrative capital of the country.
After several setbacks
— the Germans arrested many OD members —
the OD was reorganised in 1942 and came under control of
reserve captain jhr. Pieter Jacob Six (1894-1986), who moved the
AHK-OD to Amsterdam (the actual capital). [11].
The first radio link between the OD and London was established by
Allard Oosterhuis – a GP in Delfzijl 1 –
of the resistance group 't Zwaantje,
who obtained a spy radio set via Sweden [1]. 2
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The radio set – most likely an Mk V –
had been supplied by the British
Secret Intelligence Service (SIS).
In August 1943, the Dutch Minister of War decided that
Bureau Inlichtingen (BI)
– the Dutch intelligence service in London –
would be solely responsible for all intelligence exchange between
The Netherlands and the Government in exile. A number of BI agents
were dropped over the occupied country, to establish radio group Barbara
and intensify the relationship with the OD.
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Known as Region 2 of the OD.
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This transmitter was provided by the UK and was deliverd by ship
via the so-called 'Swedish Route'. It is believed that this was a
Whaddon Mk V transceiver,
also known as Paraset (Paracette)
(shown in the image).
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National radio network
Binnenlandse Radiodienst
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In addition to the international radio links between The Netherlands and
the Dutch Goverment in London, it was the task of the OD to establish
a national communications network, that could be used in case the
Germans would destroy the existing infrastructure
on their anticipated retreat.
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Jan Thijssen was later expelled from the OD, due to differences of
opinion about the use of the radio network, and founded a new clandestine
organisation: Raad van Verzet (RVV)
- Resistance Council — which also became an important
clandestine radio network for contact with London.
Some of the OD equipment is shown in the image above.
The BR (and RVV) consisted largely of people who had
been licenced radio amateurs (HAMs) before the war.
Apart from using the series-produced OD radio sets,
the OD/BR also distributed the circuit diagrams of these devices,
so that they could be built, modified and improved by radio
amateurs with locally obtained parts.
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In September 1944, after the liberation of the south of the Netherlands,
the OD/BR established
reliable radio and telephone links
between the regions, the
BI in (liberated) Eindhoven and with the Dutch Government in London.
In particular the national radio links were important, as the telephone lines
in the part of the country that was still occupied, could not always be
trusted.
Operating a clandestine radio station during the war was not without risk,
as the operators of OD Region 16 found out when they established a
temporary radio post in Rijsbergen (near Breda).
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It was located in the home of forester Neefs in the Vloeiweide —
an irregation meadow.
As the allied invasion had already begun, it was assumed that the war
would be over within a couple of weeks and that the Germans were
about to retreat. But it was not to be. The liberation of The Netherlands
progressed much slower than anticipated, and on 4 November 1944,
the Germans discovered the radio post and raided the house.
In the incident, that became known as
De Post in de Vloeiweide,
13 members of the OD and 4 civilians lost their lives,
along with 3 Germans.
On 20 September 1944, the OD was placed, together with
LKP and RVV,
under the Binnenlandse Strijdkrachten (BS) [3]
— the internal armed forces,
under control of reserve Colonel Henri Koot. 3
Radio technician Jan Thijssen (now with the RVV) [9] was arrested
by the Germans on 9 November 1944, and executed on 8 March 1945
at Woeste Hoeve,
along with 116 other resistance fighters.
Anton van Schendel
survived the war and continued his work at the
Radio Controle Dienst (RCD)
of the PTT. In 1952 he became the head
of the newly established Bijzondere Radiodienst (BRD),
that monitored foreign (propaganda) broadcasts during the
Cold War.
The BRD also used radio direction finding (RDF)
to search for clandestine (spy) radio stations operating
on Dutch territory.
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With help from Philips in Eindhoven (Netherlands).
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By Jan Hendrik (Henk) Op den Velde in Zaandam (codename HEIN) with
components supplied by Philips.
Later, after Op den Velde was arrested, engineers from
Philips took over production [6].
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Henri Koot (1883-1959) is also known as a Dutch expert in the field
of cryptography [4].
Command of the BS was assumed from September 1944 onwards
by Prins Bernhard — the Queen's son-in-law.
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In liberated parts of The Netherlands, the members of the organisation
could be recognised by a band on their arm. Most of these armbands were
in the colours blue, white and orange, but other designs were also used.
In some cases, the name of the city was printed on the band as well [19].
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The image on the right shows the armband that was used by the OD
in the city of Delft. The cloth is printed with vertical bars in the
colours blue, white and orange. At the center is the Dutch Lion with the
letters 'O' and 'D' at either side. Under it is the city name Delft,
printed in a bright colour. The logo is stamped with the black letters 'OD'.
There are other designs in which the blue, white and orange bars were printed
horizontally, with just the letters 'OD' in black at the centre.
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The OD was organised in 12 Sections, each identified by a Roman numeral.
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- Generale Staf
- Intendance
- Geneeskundige Dienst
- Materieel en Bewapening
- Genie
- Motordienst
- Administratie en verpleging stap
- Arrestatie en voorbereiding internering
- Bewaking
- Algemene Zaken
- Civiele Zaken
- Documentatie
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Furthermore, the General Staff (Section 1), consisted of 8 Bureaux.
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- Operaties (operations)
- Personeel en Organisatie (personnel and organisation)
- Inlichtingen (intelligence)
- Juridische Zaken (legal affairs)
- Verbindingen (communication)
- Koninklijke Marechaussee, Politie, Brandweer (military police, police, fire brigade)
- Registrator (registrar)
- Vervoer (transport)
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The OD had divided The Netherlands into 19 regions (Dutch: Gewesten)
that had a high degree of autonomy. Although the borders of the regions
mostly followed the borders of the provinces, there are some exceptions.
Especially the larger provinces (e.g. Noord-Brabant and Gelderland)
and the densely populated area around Amsterdam were sub-divided into
smaller regions.
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OD regions in The Netherlands during WWII
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Each region had a number, a name and a 'capital', as listed below.
The Region number was usually prefixed with the letter 'G' for Gewest,
the Dutch word for Region. For example: Groningen would be identified as
G2, Amsterdam as G10 and Eindhoven as G18.
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Also known as Noorderkwartier.
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In addition to the Regions listed above, each of which had its own
Region-Command, the Chief-of-Staff of the OD, jhr. Six, divided the
country in four large districts when he assumed command in 1942. These
districts were known an Noord, West, Oost en Zuid (north, west, east and
south).
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OD districts in The Netherlands during WWII
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The national (radio) network that had been prepaired by the
Binnenlandse Radiodienst (BR) – the Internal Radio Service – was
fully activated on 5 September 1944, 1 when the allies entered the Netherlands
from the south, 2 and was operational until after the liberation of the country
in May 1945. Until that moment, Eindhoven (Region 18) was the only base that
was in the liberated part of the country; all other stations were on occupied
territory. Operating them was a high risk [13].
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OD communications lines from September 1944 until December 1945
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After the activation of the OD/BR Network,
Eindhoven was the residency of the Commander of the Internal Armed Forces
(CBS), and acted at the central hub.
It had lines to the OD's General Headquarters (AHK) in Amsterdam 3
and to the leading stations in Blaricum (LS1) and Amsterdam (LS2,
LS2a).
Secure communications between Amsterdam (LS2, LS2a, AHK),
The Hague (13),
Haarlem (12), Alkmaar (11) and Blaricum (LS1) were possible via the
underground telephone network that had
secretly been built by PTT employees during the war.
All other lines were via radio [13].
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AHK Amsterdam 4 General Headquarters (jhr. Pieter Jacob Six) LS1 Blaricum Leading Station I LS2 Amsterdam 4 Leading Station II LS2a Amsterdam 4 Leading Station IIa CBS Eindhoven Commander of the Internal Armed Forces
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There were no direct radio or telephone links with Rotterdam (14) and Utrecht (8),
due to technical issues at these locations. All communication with these two
regions went by courier.
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This date is also known as Dolle Dinsdag — Mad Tuesday ➤ Wikipedia
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Operation Market Garden ➤ Wikipedia
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Initially, the headquarters of the OD
(AHK-OD) was located in The Hague,
but in August 1942 it was relocated to Amsterdam, under the new
Chief-of-Staff jhr. Pieter Jacob Six [6].
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AHK, LS2 and LS2a were all located in Amsterdam, but at different addresses.
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In particular the lines with Region 15 – the province of Zeeland – played
an important part during the Battle of the Scheldt
(2 October - 8 November 1944). It had a fine maze of smaller stations on
each of the islands, and was able to provide the Allied Forces with
accurate information about the German movements [14].
Although this battle is little known, it is equally important to
Operation Market Garden. The Netflex movie The forgotten Battle (2021),
is about this event [15].
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Communication lines during the Battle of the Scheldt
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Apart from an early incident in Region 16 in September 1944
(De Post in de Vloeiweide),
in which 20 people had lost their lives,
the lines worked well until the end of 1944 [13].
Over time, the stations in Venlo (19), Zutphen (5) and Apeldoorn (6)
were lost to German Radio Direction Finding (RDF), but the big blow came in early 1945. On 30 January, the first station in Amsterdam was
lost (LS2), soon followed by the second one (LS2a). Early in
February the stations in Groningen (2), Assen (3), Zwolle (4), Leeuwarden (1), Blaricum (LS1) and The Hague (13) were raided over a period of just 10 days,
leaving only 9, 11 and 12 in the area around Amsterdam.
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OD communications lines on 1 March 1945
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Luckily, Amsterdam still had its secret telephone lines and was soon able
to re-establish some of its radio links. After the war had ended with the
German capitulation on 5 May 1945, the central hub in Eindhoven was closed
by the BI (15 May),
but the rest of the network was kept alive until the regular services
were restored. At the end of June 1945, the OD/BR network was closed down.
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- Wikipedia, Ordedienst
Retrieved December 2020 (in Dutch language).
- Wikipedia, Johan Hendrik Westerveld
Retrieved December 2020 (in Dutch language).
- Wikipedia, Binnenlandse Strijdkrachten
Retrieved December 2020 (in Dutch language).
- Wikipedia, Henri Koot
Retrieved December 2020 (in Dutch language).
- Alfred Paul Marie Cammaert, Het verborgen front
Hoofdstuk VIII, De Ordedienst (Chapter 8, in Dutch language).
University of Groningen, 1994.
- Jan Schulten, De radiopost van de Ordedienst in Rijsbergen
- achtergronden van het drama op de Vloeiweide - (in Dutch language).
Jaarboek De Oranjeboom 47, 1994.
- JWM (Jan) Schulten, De geschiedenis van de Ordedienst
University of Leiden, Dissertation 1998. ISBN 90-12-08633-7.
- Tom Dekker, Een 'militaire' verzetsgroep met lijntjes naar Londen
University of Amsterdam, Master Thesis, 30 July 2018.
- Wikipedia, Jan Thijssen (verzetsstrijder)
Retrieved December 2020 (in Dutch language).
- J. (Jack) Verhagen, Dagboek van den Radiozender Gewest XI
August 1945. Obtained from Regionaal Archief Alkmaar.
- Wikipedia (Netherlands), Pieter Jacob Six
Retrieved December 2020.
- A.S.M. van Schendel, Mijn werkzaamheden als chef-marconist van de OD en mijn belevenissen in de gevangenis
Organisation of the Interal Radio Service (BR) of the OD
and the radio links with the UK.
Post-war report, in Dutch language. Date unknown.
- Lt. ir. W.J.L. Dalmijn, Verslag inzake den binnenlandsche Radiodienst van den OD over het tijdvak september 1944 tot mei 1945
Post-war report, in Dutch language. Date unknown.
- Wikipedia, Battle of the Scheldt
Retrieved December 2020.
➤ Dutch version
- Wikipedia, The Forgotten Battle
Retrieved December 2020, May 2021.
➤ Dutch version
- D.W. (Dick) Rollema (PA0SE), Radioverbindingen van het Verzet in Zeeland
VERON Electron, May 1987
- D.W. (Dick) Rollema (PA0SE), Station G11 van de Binnenlandse Radiodienst
VERON Electron, May 1988
- Wikipedia (Netherlands), Allard Oosterhuis
Retrieved November 2021.
➤ English version
- Website Ninnenlandse Strijdkrachten, Armbanden
Visited 8 January 2023.
- Image of clandestine OD radio station at Lange Noordstraat in Middelburg
ZB Bibliotheek van Zeeland, Middelburg. Beeldbank Zeeland, record 66336.
Author and exact location unknown.
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© Crypto Museum. Created: Wednesday 30 December 2020. Last changed: Sunday, 08 January 2023 - 10:34 CET.
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![Clandestine Ordedienst radio station at Lange Noordstraat in Middelburg (Zeeland, Walcheren, Netherlands). Source: Beeldbank Zeeland 66336 [20].](img/ZB66336_OD15_LNSMB_thumb.jpg "image # ZB66336_OD15_LNSMB_large.jpg")
![Clandestine Ordedienst radio station at Lange Noordstraat in Middelburg (Zeeland, Walcheren, Netherlands). Source: Beeldbank Zeeland 66336 [20].](img/ZB66336_OD15_LNSMB_large.jpg)
