Machiel van den Heuvel was the Dutch escape officer in Oflag IV-C

Oflag IV-C

Oflag IV-C, often referred to as Colditz Castle because of its location, was one of the most famous German Army prisoner-of-war camps for officers in World War II; Oflag is a shortening of Offizierslager, meaning "officers camp"...

 Colditz for Dutch POW's held in Germany during World War II. A similar role to that held by Captain Pat Reid, the author of The Colditz Story

The Colditz Story

The Colditz Story is a 1955 prisoner of war film starring John Mills and Eric Portman and directed by Guy Hamilton.It is based on the book written by P.R...

, for the British POW's. Van den Heuvel played a key factor in most Dutch officer escapes (such as Hans Larive

Hans Larive

Etienne Henri "Hans" Larive, MWO, DSC and bar, was a Dutch naval officer during World War II. He escaped from the prisoner of war camp Oflag IV-C at Colditz Castle in 1941, and spent the rest of the war in England serving aboard Motor Torpedo Boats...

, Francis Steinmetz

Francis Steinmetz

Francis Steinmetz was an officer in the Royal Netherlands Navy who escaped from Oflag IV-C, Colditz Castle, a German POW camp, during World War II....

 and Anthony Luteyn

Anthony Luteyn

Abraham Pierre Tony Luteyn was a Dutch officer who successfully escaped from the German prisoner of war camp of Colditz...

) from the Germans during the war.

POW

Machiel (Jim) van den Heuvel, known as "Vandy" by the British POW's, was a captain in the Royal Dutch East Indies Army(KNIL) who happened to be in Holland at the outbreak of World War II in May 1940. After the Dutch capitulation he refused to give his word of honour not to harm German interest and was sent to a German POW camp. Here van den Heuvel was quickly appointed as escape officer. Together with lieutenant Gerrit Dames the two KNIL officers were a main factor for most Dutch escape successes during the war. He discovered the escape route in the park where two men could be hidden in a manhole in the park, Lieutenants Hans Larive

Hans Larive

Etienne Henri "Hans" Larive, MWO, DSC and bar, was a Dutch naval officer during World War II. He escaped from the prisoner of war camp Oflag IV-C at Colditz Castle in 1941, and spent the rest of the war in England serving aboard Motor Torpedo Boats...

, Francis Steinmetz

Francis Steinmetz

Francis Steinmetz was an officer in the Royal Netherlands Navy who escaped from Oflag IV-C, Colditz Castle, a German POW camp, during World War II....

, Lt. Oscar Drijber and Major C. Giebel escaped using this route. Vandy worked together with the other escape officers.

In June 1943 all Dutch officers at Colditz were transferred to Stalag

Stalag

In Germany, stalag was a term used for prisoner-of-war camps. Stalag is a contraction of "Stammlager", itself short for Kriegsgefangenen-Mannschafts-Stammlager.- Legal definitions :...

 371 in Stanislau to join other Dutch officer POW's. Vandy also claimed many more escapes from this camp. Finally Vandy was transferred to Oflag VII-D

Oflag VII-D

Oflag VII-C/Z, later renamed Oflag VII-D was a World War II German prisoner-of-war camp for officers located in Tittmoning Castle in south-eastern Bavaria from 1940 to 1942. It existed only a short time...

 at Tittmoning where the Germans thought he could do no more harm because most prisoners were older generals. From Tittmoning Vandy helped Giles Romilly

Giles Romilly

Giles Samuel Bertram Romilly, , was a journalist, Nazi POW, brother of Esmond Romilly and nephew of Winston Churchill. He was educated at Wellington College and Oxford, and then served as a war correspondent in both the Spanish Civil War and in World War II...

 escape. Romilly was a prominent prisoner in Colditz because he was Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...

's nephew.

After the war

After the war, Machiel van den Heuvel was made a major and sent to Java, Indonesia to fight in the Indonesian war of independence

Indonesian National Revolution

The Indonesian National Revolution or Indonesian War of Independence was an armed conflict and diplomatic struggle between Indonesia and the Dutch Empire, and an internal social revolution...

. He was a battalion commander when he was killed in action at Padalarang, Java 29 June 1946. He had been awarded the Bronze Cross

Bronze Cross (Netherlands)

The Bronze Cross of the Kingdom of the Netherlands was instituted on 11 June 1940 by Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands while she was residing in London during the German occupation of the Netherlands...

 for his actions.

Trivia

In the film "The Colditz Story

The Colditz Story

The Colditz Story is a 1955 prisoner of war film starring John Mills and Eric Portman and directed by Guy Hamilton.It is based on the book written by P.R...

" 1955, directed by Guy Hamilton

Guy Hamilton

Guy Hamilton is an English film director.Hamilton was born in Paris, France where his English parents were living. Remaining in France during the Nazi occupation, he was active in the French Resistance...

, the role of Vandy was played by actor Theodore Bikel

Theodore Bikel

Theodore Meir Bikel is a character actor, folk singer and musician. He made his film debut in The African Queen and was nominated for an Academy award for his supporting role as Sheriff Max Muller in The Defiant Ones ....

.

External links

1. http://www.colditzcastle.net/british-pows/dutch/

2. http://www.onderscheidingen.nl/decorandi/wo2/dec_h03.html

3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colditz_Castle/List_of_Colditz_Castle_escape_attempts

4. http://www.museumverbindingsdienst.nl/leven2.html

5. http://www.pegasusarchive.org/pow/pOf_4C.htm

6. http://geschiedenis.vpro.nl/programmas/2899536/afleveringen/20883752/items/20982228/

7. http://nieuws.hetkontakt.nl/lek/271/de-nederlandse-veteranen-van-colditz

8. http://www.majordickwinters.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=41&t=1549

9. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047945/fullcredits#cast