Schaarbeek, 1916. The city witnesses the birth of Andrée De Jongh, a woman who never stopped forging her own path. Nicknamed “Dédée” or “Mini cyclone”, she’s known for her extraordinary determination. 

She is just 23 years old when Belgium falls under German occupation in 1940. She decides to act. Together with fellow resistance members Arnold Deppé and Henri Debliqui, she creates the Comet line: an escape network to help Allied airmen reach safety. 

The journey is long and dangerous. From Brussels to Spain, through occupied France. It requires safe houses, forged documents, and trusted contacts. But also care, food and reassurance. Andrée De Jongh organises every detail. And above all, she makes the journey herself, guiding escaping across the border, time and again. 

Thanks to her, 118 Allied airmen regain their freedom. And hundreds more later follow the route she mapped out. 

But her role is uncovered, and she is eventually arrested in 1943. Young and a woman... the Gestapo refuses to believe she is behind such an extensive network. She escapes execution. She is imprisoned, then deported to Germany. Despite the brutal conditions, she survives. 

After the war, her determination remains undiminished. She leaves for Africa to care for people with leprosy. Always with the same dedication: helping others, whatever the cost. Raised to nobility by King Baudouin in 1985, she dies on 13 October 2007. 

Today both a street and a bus stop in Laeken bear her name. They honour the woman who, in the darkest of times, showed so many the way to freedom.