(Groesbeek, 1925)

Member of the 1st Company DNB

Piet Teunissen alias ‘Peer’ in resistance and for freedom

Petrus Antonius Maria (Piet) Teunissen, alias ‘Peer’, was born on 2 February 1925 in Groesbeek.

During the war in 1942, Piet Teunissen attempted to reach England via an escape route through France to Spain. However, he was arrested in France and spent six months in prison. After his release, he returned home to Groesbeek. A week later, on the advice of a friend, he decided to go into hiding. This friend had connections in the Achterhoek, which led Piet to Harreveld, where he stayed with Hendrik and Bertha Wisselink at Landstraat 34.

He soon became acquainted with other people in hiding in the area. These included Wim van de Veen (‘Willem with the Glasses’), who was hiding with Johan Mellink, and David Bier (‘Willem van de Broek’), who was staying with Johan Hilferink at ‘de Kleermaker’. All were located on Landstraat. Henk van ’t Lam (‘Lange Henk’) was also hiding nearby.

Later, Piet went into hiding on the Wolters family farm in Harreveld. The elder Wolters was the sexton of the Roman Catholic church in Harreveld. Their neighbor was the notorious NSB (National Socialist Movement) member Heuthorst, who was liquidated by Kees Ruizendaal (‘Zwarte Kees’).

In January 1945, on the recommendation of ‘Willem with the Glasses’, Piet joined the resistance group ‘De Bark’. Here he was reunited with old acquaintances such as David Bier and Henk van ’t Lam. As there were three men named ‘Piet’ at ‘De Bark’ (Piet Bangma, Piet Spruijt, and Piet Teunissen), it was decided to call Piet Spruijt ‘Pedro’ and Piet Teunissen ‘Peer’ to avoid confusion.

Peer was trained in the use of weapons and took part in various operations. Following the tragedy at ‘De Bark’ and the mass execution at Rademakersbroek, Peer stayed with several fellow members of ‘De Bark’ in the agricultural warehouse on Dinxperlosestraatweg. From there, he and Pedro Spruijt were sheltered with Hendrik and Bertha Heersink in ‘de Haart’. A short time later, he returned to farmer Wisselink on Landstraat in Harreveld. Several other members of ‘De Bark’ also stayed in the vicinity, awaiting further orders. They spent their time on target practice at the Te Lindert farm ‘de Katte’ on Heelweg (now Hiddinkweg).

BS and DNB

As the front drew closer, they moved toward Dinxperlose Heurne. It was here that he experienced the liberation on March 30, 1945. The men almost immediately began arresting members of the NSB (National Socialist Movement) and Reich Germans, who were interned in the Irene building on Hogestraat in Aalten. The following day (March 31, 1945), Peer took part in an action at the ‘Meihuis’ farm in Lintelo, during which ‘Kleine Herman’ (Herman Huinink) was killed in action and ‘Lange Henk’ (Henk van ’t Lam) was wounded.

On April 15, 1945, Peer joined the Dutch National Battalion along with many of his resistance comrades. Following the disbandment of the DNB, he served in the former Dutch East Indies for three years. He later operated a mink farm in Groesbeek.

Peer passed away on 1 December 2002 at the age of 77.

No image available