Remembering The Resistance

The wars in Iraq War and Afghanistan have given this nation a new generation of combat veterans. When we honor them this Veteran's Day, it will also be an occasion to pay homage to all those who served our country.

During World War II, resistance fighters spread across the occupied countries of Europe. From sabotaging Nazi installations to helping rescue downed Allied fliers, the Resistance played a vital role in helping to foil the enemy behind their lines.

Their stories may not be as well known as those of the men and women in uniform, but they're no less important.

Now, an exhibit chronicling the Belgium Resistance, its members and their accomplishments will go on display at Cooper Union College in New York City.

Andree Antoine Dumon was a member of the Resistance. She personally helped rescue 27 downed Allied fliers, was a courier for the resistance, despite great personal risk.

"I did that with great pleasure, because I want to help the people who came to help us, to find freedom again," she said. "I know the American people helped us very much to be free again."

Dumon was eventually arrested and deported to Nazi Germany, where she was imprisoned. A photograph of her liberation is included in the exhibition.

Baron Georges Schnek was a Belgian resister who operated mainly in France. Schnek, who is Jewish, helped provide false ID papers and ration coupons to fleeing Jewish families.

"We went to the southern part of France," he recalled. "During the occupation, I decided to fight the Germans and the Nazi occupation because we knew that the Nazis were the enemy of human civilization.

"We knew that civilization would disappear if the Nazis came to power."

The exhibition runs through December 10th.