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said of the gathering on
Keizersgracht. "There were about thirty people, all representing various groups. I went there shaking in my boots. Fortunately we were not betrayed, or the Germans would have been able to arrest the entire non-affiliated resistance movement in Amsterdam in one fell blow."
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The VGA had a special branch aimed at identifying traitors and helping members who had been arrested, in some cases even attempting to break them free. The intelligence work included making contact with a broad network of jailers, attorneys, physicians, priests and even members of the German
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In late 1943, the various organisations caring for Jews and others in hiding in
Amsterdam established regular contact. A number of leaders of these groups met at Keizersgracht 695 to found the VGA. A similar federation was established in
96:, who therefore chose not to be affiliated with the LO. Another reason why these groups preferred to remain independent of the national organisations was that many of the groups represented specific minorities such as Jews or
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in
Amsterdam, followed by interviews with children of PP group members. Following the showing, a ceremony was held to unveil a plaque on the building at Keizersgracht 695 commemorating the founding of the VGA there.
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or part-Jewish background. The VGA focused primarily on hiding Jews from the Nazis and caring for Jews in hiding. Their activities included distributing falsified identification documents, as well as
86:(LO) but preferred to remain independent. The choice to remain independent was often related to the fact that the LO reported all families hiding Jews and others from the Nazis to the
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40:. The VGA was founded in late 1943 to coordinate the activities of Amsterdam's resistance groups. The groups counted some 350 members, about a fifth of whom had a
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92:(NSF), an organisation which coordinated the financial support of the Dutch resistance activities. This reporting was considered too risky by the
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In April 2013, a book by Loes Gompes documenting the history of the PP group, one of the organisations in the VGA, was published under the title
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153:(Jewish Historical Museum) in Amsterdam in January 2014 and broadcast in April of that year on national television channel
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149:. The book was accompanied by a documentary film of the same title, which was shown in the
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Keizersgracht 695 (centre of photo), where the organisation was founded in 1943
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The 38 groups united under the VGA umbrella included the PP group led by
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and financial support, to Jews and others in hiding (so-called
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Het
Koninkrijk der Nederlanden in de Tweede Wereldoorlog
122:"For us, it was the most dangerous meeting of the war",
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NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and
Genocide Studies
28:(VGA, "Free Groups of Amsterdam") was a federation of
147:Fatsoenlijk land: Porgel en Porulan in het verzet
83:Landelijke Organisatie voor Hulp aan Onderduikers
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54:) and to members of the resistance movement.
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168:The archive of the VGA is maintained by the
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260:, vol. 7, part 2, pp. 729-731 (Dutch)
7:
235:"Vriendenwandeling: Joods Amsterdam"
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282:The Holocaust in the Netherlands
237:, Stadsherstel Amsterdam (Dutch)
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287:Jews and Judaism in Amsterdam
192:Netherlands in World War II
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137:(SD) intelligence agency.
36:during the final years of
292:Amsterdam in World War II
151:Joods Historisch Museum
26:Vrije Groepen Amsterdam
216:, Archieven.nl (Dutch)
116:Vrije Groepen Den Haag
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89:Nationaal Steun Fonds
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134:Sicherheitsdienst
59:Bob van Amerongen
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38:World War II
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252:Loe de Jong
155:Nederland 2
141:Remembrance
271:Categories
198:References
187:Anne Frank
182:Group 2000
162:Tuschinski
98:socialists
32:groups in
111:The Hague
76:The name
34:Amsterdam
176:See also
104:History
113:, the
42:Jewish
69:and
61:and
24:The
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