10/29/2024
Mona Louise Parsons -- who faced ex*****on after helping rescue downed Allied airmen during WWII as a member of the Dutch Resistance -- was born on this day in 1901. Parsons became the only Canadian civilian woman to be imprisoned by the N***s during the war and she spent over three years in a prison camp before escaping in 1945.
Parsons was born in Nova Scotia, Canada, and worked as an actress in New York and later as a nurse. After marrying a Dutch businessman, she moved to the Netherlands in 1937. Three years later, after the N***s invasion, she joined the Dutch Resistance movement. As a resistance member, she concealed downed allied airmen in her home until they could be moved to Leiden where they would board fishing boats and rendezvous with British submarines.
The Gestapo arrested Parsons in September 1941 and tried her that December. She was convicted of treason and sentenced to death by firing squad. Remembering her sentencing, she said, “I knew that all eyes were on me, expecting me to burst into tears. I determined not to humble myself before any of them.” She demonstrated such calm and courage that the judge permitted her to appeal the sentence, which was commuted to life imprisonment with hard labor.
Parsons was transferred to Anrath Prison in Germany and then to Wiedenbruck, where she was put to work building aircraft wings and bomb igniters for 12 hours a day. In February 1945, Parsons was transferred to yet another prison camp, and when the Allies began bombing it a month later, she and a Dutch baroness saw their opportunity and escaped. For three weeks, she walked barefoot for nearly 78 miles through German territory to the Dutch border. There, Parsons eventually made contact with the North Nova Scotia Highlanders and was taken to safety.
She returned to Nova Scotia in 1957, nearly penniless after the death of her husband, and eventually married a childhood friend, Major General Harry Foster. For her bravery in helping Allied airmen, Parsons was honored by Air Chief Marshall Lord Arthur Tedder of the Royal Air Force on behalf of the British people and by General Dwight Eisenhower on behalf of the American people. Despite her impressive accomplishments and incredible courage and sacrifice, when she died in 1976 her memorial was marked only “wife of Major General H.W. Foster.”
For an excellent new book for adults about two Jewish sisters who joined the Dutch Resistance during WWII, we highly recommend "The Sisters of Auschwitz" at https://www.amightygirl.com/the-sisters-of-auschwitz
For an uplifting picture book about a real-life American girl who helped Dutch families in the war-torn country at the end of WWII, we recommend "Boxes for Katje" for ages 4 to 8 at https://www.amightygirl.com/boxes-for-katje
For more stories about girls who stood up to the N***s, we recommend "The Whispering Town" for ages 6 to 9 (https://www.amightygirl.com/the-whispering-town), "Making Bombs for Hi**er" for ages 10 and up (https://www.amightygirl.com/making-bombs-for-hitler), "White Rose" for ages 13 and up (https://www.amightygirl.com/white-rose)
And, for more books for both children and teens about girls and women who lived during the Holocaust period, including stories of other heroic resisters and rescuers, check out our blog post, "60 Mighty Girl Books About The Holocaust" at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=11586
