Andrée De Jongh

This stop is located near Andrée de Jongh Street, named after this World War II resistance heroine.

Andrée de Jongh, born on November 30, 1916, in Schaerbeek, Belgium, passed away on October 13, 2007, in Brussels, at the age of 90.

De Jongh became a legend of World War II for her bravery in helping downed Allied airmen escape from Nazi-occupied Belgium.

At the age of 24, in 1941, she founded and led the Comet escape line, a network that helped airmen travel from Belgium through occupied France to Spain, ultimately reaching safety. Her role in the operation earned her the nickname “Dédée” (little mother).

Her efforts directly helped 118 airmen escape to safety, with over 300 more following the route she had established. The escape route, which was long and treacherous, required her to organize the recovery of fallen soldiers, provide medical aid, and arrange for fake identities and safe houses along the way. Despite the danger, she continued these operations until her capture in 1943, when she was arrested and sent to the Ravensbrück concentration camp.

After the war, de Jongh remained dedicated to humanitarian work. She worked in leper hospitals in the Belgian Congo and Ethiopia. 1985, she was made a Belgian countess for her extraordinary contributions during the war and beyond.

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