Anthony Luteyn
Encyclopedia
Abraham Pierre Tony Luteyn (10 February 1917 - 9 February 2003) was a Dutch officer who successfully escaped from the German prisoner of war camp of Colditz
. Sometimes he is referred to as Anthony Luteyn.
At the outbreak of World War II in the Netherlands, Tony Luteyn was a cadet of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army
(Koninklijk Nederlands Indisch Leger, KNIL) at the Dutch military academy (Koninklijke Militaire Academie
, KMA).
After the capitulation of the Dutch armed forces, all officers and cadets were asked to give their word of honour not to harm German interests in any way as long as Holland and Germany were at war. When they gave their word of honour they could go home and live relatively free.
Tony Luteyn refused, together with about 60 other officers, cadets and one rating of the Dutch navy (stoker Willem de Lange). The officers refusing did so for various reasons. Some did not give their word because they saw it as conflicting with their officer's oath. The majority of officers who didn't give their word of honour were officers of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army, arguing that according to their regulations it was forbidden to give their word of honour and because the Dutch East Indies were still free at that time, they saw it as their duty to remain in the fight.
All final year cadets were commissioned just before they were led into captivity. Tony Luteyn was thus commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant of engineers in the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army. Because their commission was given hastily and without much ceremony they were dubbed "kasian lieutenant" (Malay for pity lieutenants).
, Royal Netherlands Navy
. Larive was caught at the Swiss border near Gottmadingen / Singen
but this escape attempt proved to be vital for many future escapes.
After Larive was caught, he was interrogated by a local gestapo officer. In 1940, Germany was still in an over-confident mood and the gestapo officer told Larive where he went wrong and what he should have done to cross the border successfully. Many officers, including Larive himself and Tony Luteyn, later used this information to cross the border successfully.
In November 1940 the group was moved to Juliusburg Oflag VIII C in Amalienstift, an old convent. The convent was partly used as POW camp and part was still in use as an orphanage. From this camp the first successful escape was made by captain John Trebels and lieutenant Frans van der Veen who also used the Gotttmadingen/singen border crossing. As other officers were also busy with escape attempts which could interfere with each other, Captain Machiel van den Heuvel
was appointed as escape officer.
Colditz
.
At this moment there were Polish, British, French and Belgian POW's in Colditz. Escape attempts before the Dutch arrived were made. Few were successful, amongst which were the escapes by French Lieutenants Pierre Mairesse Lebrun
and Alain le Ray.
In August and September 1941, only one month after arriving in Colditz, the Dutch could claim two successful escapes during which four Dutch officers (naval lieutenants Hans Larive
and Flanti Steinmetz
, major C.Giebel and 2nd Lieutenant O.Drijber) escaped to Switzerland.
On 5 January 1942 Tony Luteyn made his successful escape together with British lieutenant Airey Neave
. Neave was the first British officer to make it back to Britain from Colditz. In December 1941 the British had discovered a way of escape for two officers dressed in German uniforms. From the third floor from the saalhouse and the theater they had made a hole in the floor which gave an entrance to the attic above the guardroom. As they needed an officer who could speak fluent German, the British asked the Dutch to work together.
Tony Luteyn and Airey Neave were teamed together and on January 5, 1942 after evening roll call, they were led to the saalhouse by British escape officer Pat Reid and Canadian Howard Wardle. Both prospective escapers were dressed in three sets of clothes - first civilian clothes, second German uniform, thirdly their own uniform. Through the hole under the theater they were led to a tower in which they could reach the stairs to the guardroom. The two escapers had to wait a few minutes so Reid and Wardle had time to return to the theater and camouflage all traces of this escape. Tony Luteyn and Neave cleaned and checked their German uniforms and proceeded downstairs to the German guards. Several guards sprang to attention when "lieutnants" Luteyn and Neave passed them. They went to the park because passing the final guard at the gate required needed identification, which they didn't have. The park however was lightly guarded and there they climbed the wall without many problems.
After passing the wall they buried their German uniforms and went to Leisnig where they took the early train to Leipzig. Targeting a cross into Switzerland via Hans Larive
's Singen
route, they had to wait for twelve hours before they could continue to Regensburg. To pass time they went to a local cinema. They reached Ulm through Regensburg and Augsburg; here they tried to buy a ticket to Engen, a village near Singen. The lady selling train tickets was suspicious and warned the local police. Luteyn and Neave were taken to the local police station and questioned. There they told their cover-story: as Dutchmen working for the arbeitseinzats. The police only half believed their story and brought them to the local arbeitseinzats building to check their story. In this building they escaped and walked 40 km to Biberach where they took a train to Stockach from which they could walk the final km to Singen.
Travelling for three days and living on a few pieces of chocolate and sucking snowballs as drinking water, they got tired. They were discovered again by workers and fled and hid in an empty garden shack. Here they tried to sleep on a small bench. When they wanted to leave they discovered their shoes were frozen to the floor; they had to defrost them with their breath. They took a spade and axe to look like local workers. On the evening of the fourth day they reached the Swiss border. As a police car was checking the local border posts they could clearly see them. They picked their position and decided to cross the border running. They shook hands and wished each other luck. Running with bleeding blisters and falling and stumbling through snow-covered holes, they reached the village of Ramsen in Switzerland.
in 1943.
Airey Neave joined MI9
and became a famous member of parliament.
After the successful escape by Tony Luteyn and Neave, another British Dutch couple (Hyde Thompson and Donkers) tried to escape on 6 Jan 1942. They successfully got out of the castle but had the misfortune to get the same ticket-sales-lady as Luteyn and Neave in Ulm. They got arrested and were returned to Colditz.
Colditz
Colditz is a town in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, near Leipzig, located on the banks of the river Mulde. The town has a population of 5,188 ....
. Sometimes he is referred to as Anthony Luteyn.
Start of World War II
Luteyn was born at Batavia, Dutch East Indies.At the outbreak of World War II in the Netherlands, Tony Luteyn was a cadet of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army
Royal Netherlands East Indies Army
The Royal Netherlands East Indies Army was the military force maintained by the Netherlands in its colony of the Netherlands East Indies . The KNIL's air arm was the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force...
(Koninklijk Nederlands Indisch Leger, KNIL) at the Dutch military academy (Koninklijke Militaire Academie
Koninklijke Militaire Academie
The Royal Military Academy is the service academy for the Dutch Army and the Dutch Air Force. Located in Breda, the Netherlands, the KMA has trained future officers since 1828.-Description:...
, KMA).
After the capitulation of the Dutch armed forces, all officers and cadets were asked to give their word of honour not to harm German interests in any way as long as Holland and Germany were at war. When they gave their word of honour they could go home and live relatively free.
Tony Luteyn refused, together with about 60 other officers, cadets and one rating of the Dutch navy (stoker Willem de Lange). The officers refusing did so for various reasons. Some did not give their word because they saw it as conflicting with their officer's oath. The majority of officers who didn't give their word of honour were officers of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army, arguing that according to their regulations it was forbidden to give their word of honour and because the Dutch East Indies were still free at that time, they saw it as their duty to remain in the fight.
All final year cadets were commissioned just before they were led into captivity. Tony Luteyn was thus commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant of engineers in the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army. Because their commission was given hastily and without much ceremony they were dubbed "kasian lieutenant" (Malay for pity lieutenants).
Prisoner of war
Tony Luteyn and all other Dutch officers and cadets who had refused to give their word of honour were thus led into captivity. On 16 July 1940 they were led to their first POW camp Soest Oflag VI A. From this camp the first Dutch escape attempt was made by lieutenant Hans LariveHans Larive
Etienne Henri "Hans" Larive, MWO, DSC and bar, was a Dutch naval officer during World War II. He escaped from the prisoner of war camp Oflag IV-C at Colditz Castle in 1941, and spent the rest of the war in England serving aboard Motor Torpedo Boats...
, Royal Netherlands Navy
Royal Netherlands Navy
The Koninklijke Marine is the navy of the Netherlands. In the mid-17th century the Dutch Navy was the most powerful navy in the world and it played an active role in the wars of the Dutch Republic and later those of the Batavian Republic and the Kingdom of the Netherlands...
. Larive was caught at the Swiss border near Gottmadingen / Singen
Singen
Singen is an industrial city in the very south of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany and just north of the German-Swiss border.-Location:...
but this escape attempt proved to be vital for many future escapes.
After Larive was caught, he was interrogated by a local gestapo officer. In 1940, Germany was still in an over-confident mood and the gestapo officer told Larive where he went wrong and what he should have done to cross the border successfully. Many officers, including Larive himself and Tony Luteyn, later used this information to cross the border successfully.
In November 1940 the group was moved to Juliusburg Oflag VIII C in Amalienstift, an old convent. The convent was partly used as POW camp and part was still in use as an orphanage. From this camp the first successful escape was made by captain John Trebels and lieutenant Frans van der Veen who also used the Gotttmadingen/singen border crossing. As other officers were also busy with escape attempts which could interfere with each other, Captain Machiel van den Heuvel
Machiel van den heuvel
Machiel van den Heuvel was the Dutch escape officer in Oflag IV-C Colditz for Dutch POW's held in Germany during World War II. A similar role to that held by Captain Pat Reid, the author of The Colditz Story, for the British POW's...
was appointed as escape officer.
Colditz
After the successful escape by Trebels and van der Veen, the Dutch officers were moved in July 1941 to the POW camp for "special prisoners", sonderlager Oflag IV-COflag IV-C
Oflag IV-C, often referred to as Colditz Castle because of its location, was one of the most famous German Army prisoner-of-war camps for officers in World War II; Oflag is a shortening of Offizierslager, meaning "officers camp"...
Colditz
Colditz
Colditz is a town in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, near Leipzig, located on the banks of the river Mulde. The town has a population of 5,188 ....
.
At this moment there were Polish, British, French and Belgian POW's in Colditz. Escape attempts before the Dutch arrived were made. Few were successful, amongst which were the escapes by French Lieutenants Pierre Mairesse Lebrun
Pierre Mairesse Lebrun
Pierre Marie Jean-Baptiste Mairesse-Lebrun was a French Army cavalry officer who became famous for his daring escape from Colditz castle, Oflag IV-C. He was born in Bauzy, Loir-et-Cher....
and Alain le Ray.
In August and September 1941, only one month after arriving in Colditz, the Dutch could claim two successful escapes during which four Dutch officers (naval lieutenants Hans Larive
Hans Larive
Etienne Henri "Hans" Larive, MWO, DSC and bar, was a Dutch naval officer during World War II. He escaped from the prisoner of war camp Oflag IV-C at Colditz Castle in 1941, and spent the rest of the war in England serving aboard Motor Torpedo Boats...
and Flanti Steinmetz
Francis Steinmetz
Francis Steinmetz was an officer in the Royal Netherlands Navy who escaped from Oflag IV-C, Colditz Castle, a German POW camp, during World War II....
, major C.Giebel and 2nd Lieutenant O.Drijber) escaped to Switzerland.
On 5 January 1942 Tony Luteyn made his successful escape together with British lieutenant Airey Neave
Airey Neave
Airey Middleton Sheffield Neave DSO, OBE, MC was a British soldier, barrister and politician.During World War II, Neave was one of the few servicemen to escape from the German prisoner-of-war camp Oflag IV-C at Colditz Castle...
. Neave was the first British officer to make it back to Britain from Colditz. In December 1941 the British had discovered a way of escape for two officers dressed in German uniforms. From the third floor from the saalhouse and the theater they had made a hole in the floor which gave an entrance to the attic above the guardroom. As they needed an officer who could speak fluent German, the British asked the Dutch to work together.
Tony Luteyn and Airey Neave were teamed together and on January 5, 1942 after evening roll call, they were led to the saalhouse by British escape officer Pat Reid and Canadian Howard Wardle. Both prospective escapers were dressed in three sets of clothes - first civilian clothes, second German uniform, thirdly their own uniform. Through the hole under the theater they were led to a tower in which they could reach the stairs to the guardroom. The two escapers had to wait a few minutes so Reid and Wardle had time to return to the theater and camouflage all traces of this escape. Tony Luteyn and Neave cleaned and checked their German uniforms and proceeded downstairs to the German guards. Several guards sprang to attention when "lieutnants" Luteyn and Neave passed them. They went to the park because passing the final guard at the gate required needed identification, which they didn't have. The park however was lightly guarded and there they climbed the wall without many problems.
After passing the wall they buried their German uniforms and went to Leisnig where they took the early train to Leipzig. Targeting a cross into Switzerland via Hans Larive
Hans Larive
Etienne Henri "Hans" Larive, MWO, DSC and bar, was a Dutch naval officer during World War II. He escaped from the prisoner of war camp Oflag IV-C at Colditz Castle in 1941, and spent the rest of the war in England serving aboard Motor Torpedo Boats...
's Singen
Singen
Singen is an industrial city in the very south of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany and just north of the German-Swiss border.-Location:...
route, they had to wait for twelve hours before they could continue to Regensburg. To pass time they went to a local cinema. They reached Ulm through Regensburg and Augsburg; here they tried to buy a ticket to Engen, a village near Singen. The lady selling train tickets was suspicious and warned the local police. Luteyn and Neave were taken to the local police station and questioned. There they told their cover-story: as Dutchmen working for the arbeitseinzats. The police only half believed their story and brought them to the local arbeitseinzats building to check their story. In this building they escaped and walked 40 km to Biberach where they took a train to Stockach from which they could walk the final km to Singen.
Travelling for three days and living on a few pieces of chocolate and sucking snowballs as drinking water, they got tired. They were discovered again by workers and fled and hid in an empty garden shack. Here they tried to sleep on a small bench. When they wanted to leave they discovered their shoes were frozen to the floor; they had to defrost them with their breath. They took a spade and axe to look like local workers. On the evening of the fourth day they reached the Swiss border. As a police car was checking the local border posts they could clearly see them. They picked their position and decided to cross the border running. They shook hands and wished each other luck. Running with bleeding blisters and falling and stumbling through snow-covered holes, they reached the village of Ramsen in Switzerland.
Post-escape
After his successful escape, Luteyn wrote to Captain van den Heuvel about his escape and were to look out, all in code obviously. He went to Suriname (a Dutch colony at that time) and went to Australia to join the remainder of the Dutch East Indies army there. For his successful escape Tony Luteyn was awarded the bronze crossBronze Cross (Netherlands)
The Bronze Cross of the Kingdom of the Netherlands was instituted on 11 June 1940 by Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands while she was residing in London during the German occupation of the Netherlands...
in 1943.
Airey Neave joined MI9
MI9
MI9, the British Military Intelligence Section 9, was a department of the British Directorate of Military Intelligence, part of the War Office...
and became a famous member of parliament.
After the successful escape by Tony Luteyn and Neave, another British Dutch couple (Hyde Thompson and Donkers) tried to escape on 6 Jan 1942. They successfully got out of the castle but had the misfortune to get the same ticket-sales-lady as Luteyn and Neave in Ulm. They got arrested and were returned to Colditz.