The forgotten story of Andrée de Jongh, codenamed “Dédée,” the 24-year-old Belgian woman who founded the Comet Line—WWII’s most successful escape network.
When she walked into the British Consulate in 1941, they couldn’t believe such a young woman had guided Allied soldiers across Nazi-occupied Europe.
Over 17 months, she personally escorted 118 airmen to freedom across 24 Pyrenees crossings.
Her network saved 776 Allied personnel but paid a terrible price: 290 helpers executed or died in concentration camps, including her own father.
The Germans tortured her but refused to believe a “little girl” could mastermind the operation - a misconception that saved her life.
After surviving Ravensbrück, she spent 20 years treating leprosy patients in Africa.
This is the extraordinary true story of courage, sacrifice, and how gender-based underestimation became an unlikely advantage in occupied Europe.
