Geertruida Middendorp Geertruida Elisabeth Middendorp ( November 21 , 1911 – July 13 , 2007 ) the lady that wore the Jewish star ; was a member of the LO Dutch Resistance . The LO made counterfeit coupons ; it also obtained authentic coupons from loyal Netherlands citizens in the employ of the Dutch Nazis . Other groups conducted raids and robberies to steal authentic coupons from government agencies . And some Dutch civilians gave up their own coupons to the LO during the second world war . She married Hendrik Middendorp ( October 2 , 1911 – July 13 , 1989 ) in 1934 Activities during the War Years . When the German army invaded the Netherlands , Geertruida worked for the De Telegraaf newspaper . When Geertruida became active in the Dutch underground , this would have given her the opportunity to distribute any underground newspapers ( especially as their telephone lines had been destroyed by the advancing German ' s , and use of radio transmitters was much too dangerous because of German direction - finding operations . These newspapers helped counterbalance Nazi propaganda and the German - controlled media . However De Telegraaf was transferred and / or controlled in this time of the SS . The illegal press flourished in the Netherlands during the German Occupation of 1940 – 1945 . The titles are known of almost thirteen hundred illegal papers and leaflets . Some only appeared for a short time , while others were issued throughout the five years of the occupation . A few were handwritten , but most were duplicated , and some were actually printed . The majority of the illegal papers appeared in print runs of a few hundred , but some achieved a circulation of some tens of thousands . Geertruida was active in supplying and hiding Jewish refugees supplying food coupons whenever possible : They had rescued many Jews from certain death at the hands of the Nazi SS . In 1943 , food coupons were introduced . You ' d get a stamp book and each coupon would say , " Good for two ounces of butter , one loaf of bread , " or whatever . The bread was just like an accordion . You could pull it way out or squeeze it tightly together . ( This is called " balloon bread " in America . ) The coupons were color - coded . For example , milk was yellow , bread was red , and so on . Geertruida as did her sister began taking in refugees , some of whom were Jews , others members of the resistance movement sought by the Gestapo and its Dutch counterpart , either in Geertriuda ' s family home or at the " Cafe Monopole Amstel in Amsterdam . ' During 1943 , 1944 , and 1945 , when Dutch men walked outside into the streets , they were often captured , not just by Germans , but also by people who were authorized to find them . Once captured , they would be put into trucks and they would be gone ! Every time a man showed his face on the street , he could be captured by anyone because we didn ' t know who was " pro " or " anti . " Often the men managed to escape and return home , just to be captured again . ' During the occupation Hendrick was sent to Germany as forced labour to work in the BMW factory , he was able to get back to Holland , he became a fugitive , he stayed with Geertruide ' s sister in the ' Cafe Monopol Amstel in Amsterdam ' later he was able to acquire a pass & was given work in the community kitchen in Amsterdam . The mandatory wearing of the yellow star , which went into effect in late April , 1940 , infuriated the Middendorp family as did informer ' s and collaborators . Many gentiles did try to show their sympathy . The underground newspaper , De Vonk printed 300 , 000 paper stars with inscription , " Jews and Non - Jews are ones . " 23 students at one school were sent for two weeks to Amersfoort concentration camp for wearing such stars . The wearing of the yellow star now made it ever so much easier to identify Jews once the roundups would begin . Knowing this aspect , Geertruida chose to change her own coat to help save a Jew , which some say was very foolish , but , you had to know & meet Geertruida & Hendrick Middendorp to understand why ? By mid 1944 – 45 , Geertruida took her two sons over the IJsselmeer by a barge to Friesland to a farm , one to keep the boys safe and the second reason was the coupons she could use to feed the refugees . The western Netherlands was where the Canadian Armed forces comprising the 1st Canadian Infantry division and the 5th Canadian Armoured Divisions , under the command of Lieut . - General Charles Foulkes , was responsible for the liberation of the area north of the Maas River . In this region with its large cities of Amsterdam , Rotterdam and The Hague , the people had almost reached the end of their endurance from the misery and starvation which had accompanied the " Hunger Winter " . Food supplies in the cities were exhausted , fuel had run out almost entirely and transport was virtually non - existent . Thousands of men , women and children had perished . Geertruida remembered the actual day the war ended . She remembered when Americans started flying over , very low , dropping crates of canned goods , sometimes in fields , sometimes in streets , but without parachutes . They just dropped them . And the English prepared special low - fat , high - nutrition cookies for us . Reflections On War . It seems to me that the most lasting impressions in life are those you receive as a young Adult They stick with you . And strange as it is was , the older she got , the closer she felt to the war years . So , in general , the war is still always with you . It was embedded deep within and it will stay that way forever :