Internationaler Frauentag: Die Geschichte der belgischen Widerstandskämpferin Suzanne Hirsoux

At the top left in the picture you can see Suzanne Hirsoux.

During the Second World War, Suzanne was active as a resistance fighter in Belgium. After successfully collaborating with the British secret service Special Operations Executive (SOE), she was selected in 1945 to join the Special Allied Airborne Reconnaissance Force (SAARF).

The plan was bold: elite soldiers would be parachuted near prisoner-of-war camps to gather and report information, helping ensure the prisoners’ liberation could happen more quickly and safely. There were fears that the collapsing Third Reich might take revenge on the prisoners…

In the end, only one parachute mission was carried out: Operation Violet on 25 April 1945. Shortly afterwards, SAARF was disbanded.