The frail girl who outmaneuvered the Nazis to save 118 lives

Countries & Cities · Published 15 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: To the British diplomats, she looked like a naive student on vacation. To the Nazi regime, she was an invisible ghost. Andrée de Jongh turned her nursing background into a clandestine lifeline, leading the largest escape network of World War II through mountains and occupied territory.

Born in Schaerbeek, Belgium, Andrée de Jongh was deeply influenced by Edith Cavell, a nurse executed for helping troops escape Nazi occupation. This inspiration led de Jongh to organize the Comet Line (Le Réseau Comète), which became the largest escape and evasion network of World War II. Between August 1941 and December 1942, she personally escorted approximately 118 people—including over 80 airmen—from occupied Belgium across the Pyrenees mountains into neutral Spain to reach the United Kingdom.

Her operation was defined by a fierce independence. When British authorities initially doubted her ability to navigate such treacherous routes, de Jongh demanded payment of 6,000 Belgian Francs and 1,400 Spanish Pesetas (roughly $8,000 in 2025 dollars) per person exfiltrated. She famously rejected all offers of British or Belgian government oversight, preferring to maintain total control over her network's methods. To ensure safety, she established a sophisticated system of safe houses and worked with smugglers like Florentino Goikoetxea to navigate the border.

De Jongh’s survival was partly due to an ironic Nazi underestimation. After being arrested in January 1943 following a betrayal by a farm worker, she was interrogated 19 times by the Abwehr. Because of her slight appearance and youthful demeanor, the Germans initially dismissed her as a minor helper rather than the mastermind of the Comet Line. This misconception likely spared her from execution. Though she survived Ravensbrück and Mauthausen concentration camps, she remained physically scarred for life, resurfacing in 1945 still wearing her striped camp uniform.

While de Jongh was imprisoned, the Comet Line continued under new leadership, eventually helping over 700 Allied soldiers reach safety. Her father, Frédéric de Jongh, who took over some of her duties in Belgium, was executed by the Nazis in 1944. De Jongh was later made a countess by the King of Belgium in 1985 for her extraordinary bravery.

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