Key Locations
Wiener Konditorei, Korte Poten 24, The Hague
A Viennese café-bakery opened by a Jewish refugee in 1934, still family run. Get your delicious morning pastries from the shop that is reputed to have served as a British intelligence mail-drop. The owner was at one point arrested on suspicion of espionage, though declared innocent. He was forced to put a sign in the window banning German soldiers from coming in to buy their favourite Austrian treats, and eventually had to give up the business. Betrayed when he went into hiding to avoid forced labour, he survived the concentration camps and returned to the bakery after the war.
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Grand Hotel Amrath Kurhaus, Kurhausplein 1, Scheveningen
An imposing neo-renaissance sea-front hotel and concert hall built in 1885, seized as a garrison and headquarters by the Germans. This is where Dutch resistance member Peter Tazelaar came ashore on 23rd November 1941 wearing a tuxedo under a specially adapted diving suit. Liberally doused in brandy, he slipped past German soldiers in the guise of a drunken reveller.
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'Vrouw in het Verzet’ Memorial, Kenaupark, Haarlem
Located in a pleasant town centre park, this life-size bronze statue, ‘Woman in the Resistance’, is a memorial to Hannie Schaft. It was sculpted by her resistance comrade Truus Oversteegen and unveiled by Princess Juliana in 1982.
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Grand Café Brinkmann, Grote Markt 13, Haarlem
A Haarlem institution since 1879, grab a table outside if the weather is favourable. Try a local speciality backed up by a long glass of Dutch courage. Survey the Grote Kerk and the cobble square and reflect on the bravery of the teenage Oversteegen sisters and their friend Hannie Schaft who operated in this picturesque town.
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Some suggested spots to duck into to check plans or lose a tail...
SOME SUGGESTED SPOTS TO DUCK INTO TO CHECK PLANS OR LOSE A TAIL
Pre-Mission Briefing
A SELECTION OF RECOMMENDED READING TO PREPARE FOR YOUR MISSION
Soldier of Orange (Soldaat Van Oranje) - Erik Hazelhoff Roelfzema
Essential reading, this is the primary source for the Scheveningen landing and Contact Holland; Â written in the first person by the man who stood on the beach with a cocked pistol waiting to know whether Tazelaar had passed the German sentries.
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Three Ordinary Girls - Tim Brady
The most accessible English-language account of the resistance activities of the Oversteegen sisters and Hannie Schaft. Narrative non-fiction, direct about the psychological cost of what the three young women did. Brady covers their recruitment as teenagers, the sabotage operations, the targeted killings, and the post-war silence that lasted decades. The best single book for the Haarlem visit.
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The Cut Out Girl - Bart van Es
Essential context for the journey. A narrative non-fiction account of a young Jewish girl from The Hague hidden through the occupation by van Es's own grandparents. The story begins on the Lange Voorhout, the same street as the Hotel des Indes, and deals directly with the experience of occupation, hiding, betrayal, and survival that forms the backdrop to Willy Prager's story at the Wiener Konditorei.
Once safely in place, keep hidden and try these to while away the hours
Safe House Suggestions
The Assault - Harry Mulisch
Mulisch is one of the great post-war Dutch novelists and The Assault is his most widely read work in translation. It begins in wartime Haarlem: a winter’s night, a gunshot, a collaborator's body on the pavement. It then follows its protagonist across four decades as the events of that night refuse to stay buried. The Grote Markt and the Sint-Bavokerk are central locations. Mulisch reportedly wrote parts of the novel while sitting at the Grand Café Brinkmann.
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The Girl with the Red Hair - Buzzy Jackson
Inspired by a visit to the  the Verzetsmuseum (Resistance Museum) in Amsterdam, the author set about writing this recent novel based on the story of Hannie Schaft. Set in Amsterdam and Haarlem, it covers her law studies, the loyalty declaration, her resistance activities, and her execution. Accessible and fast-moving.
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Soldier of Orange (Soldaat van Orange)Â
Directed by Paul Verhoeven, this highly rated 1977 film stars Rutger Hauer and Edward Fox. It is the primary screen account of Hazelhoff Roelfzema, the Scheveningen beach landing, and Contact Holland. Based directly on the memoir mentioned above, it is widely available on streaming platforms and DVD.
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Goldfinger
For those wanting to see how Bond adapted the tuxedo under the diving suit ruse (with the addition of a fake seagull as headgear), look no further than this 1964 Connery classic, where it features as an opener.Â
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For those seeking further inspiration, we recommend checking out Spybrary