Hannie Schaft Jannetje Johanna ( Jo ) Schaft ( 16 September 1920 – 17 April 1945 ) was a Dutch communist resistance fighter during World War II . She became known as " the girl with the red hair " ( in Dutch " Het meisje met het rode haar " , also the title of a book and film about her ) . Her secret name in the resistance movement was " Hannie " . Early life and education . Hannie Schaft was born in Haarlem . Her mother was a Mennonite and her father was attached to the Social Democratic Workers ' Party . During her law studies at the Universiteit van Amsterdam she became friends with the Jewish students Philine Polak and Sonja Frenk . This made her feel strongly about actions against Jews . With the German occupation of the Netherlands in World War II university students were required to sign a declaration of allegiance to the occupation authorities . When Hannie refused to sign the petition in support of the occupation forces , she could not continue her studies and moved in with her parents again . She became more and more active in the resistance movement and helped people who were hiding from the Germans with stolen identification cards and food - coupons . Resistance work . She joined the Raad van Verzet , a resistance movement that had close ties to the Communist Party of the Netherlands . Her motivation to join the communists was that they were at least resisting actively . With her friend Truus she carried out various attacks on Germans , collaborators and traitors . She learned to speak German fluently and got involved with German soldiers . Some resistance members considered her a traitor for that . After a sub - department of the Raad van Verzet in Velsen killed a farmer , without authorization from the groups ' leaders , Hannie brought a list of names of the ones who did that to her leaders . Afterwards the named people on this list were given to the Sicherheitsdienst , which meant a certain death . After the war this episode was investigated by a special commission . Death . She was eventually arrested at a military checkpoint in Haarlem on April 17 , 1945 , while distributing the illegal communist newspaper " de Waarheid " . Although at the end of the war there was an agreement between the occupier and the Binnenlandse Strijdkrachten to stop executions , she was shot dead three weeks before the end of the war in the dunes of Bloemendaal . Two men took her there and one shot close range , only wounding her . She supposedly said to her executioners : " I shoot better than you " , after which the other man delivered the final shot . After the war , in these dunes the remains of 422 resistance people were found , 421 men and one woman , Hannie Schaft . She was reburied at the honorary cemetery at the dunes in Overveen in the presence of Princess Juliana and her husband Prince Bernard . Later , as queen , Juliana unveiled a bronze commemorative statue in the Kenau Park in nearby Haarlem , her birthplace . Hannie Schaft also received the ' Wilhelmina resistance cross ' and a US decoration . Shortly after the war , the communist movement enjoyed popularity , partly because of the effort of the USSR in defeating the national socialist s . However , with that country ' s increasing influence in Eastern Europe , the popularity decreased . Because the Dutch communist party celebrated her as an icon , her popularity decreased too , to the point that the commemoration at Hannie ' s grave was forbidden in 1951 . The commemorators ( who were estimated to number over 10 , 000 ) were stopped by several hundred police and military with the aid of 4 tanks . A group of seven managed to circumvent the blockade and reached the burial ground , but were arrested when they tolled the bell . From the next year on , the communists decided to prevent another such scene by holding their commemoration in Haarlem instead . A number of schools and streets were named after her . For her , and other resistance - heroines , a foundation has been created ; the Stichting Nationale Hannie Schaft - herdenking . A number of books and movies have been made about her . She features in De Aanslag by Harry Mulisch , also released as a movie directed by Fons Rademakers . Ineke Verdoner wrote a song about her . Author Theun de Vries wrote a biography of her life , which has inspired the movie Het Meisje met het Rode Haar by Ben Verbong featuring Renee Soutendijk as Hannie Schaft . She is remembered each year in November during a national event held in Haarlem .