Croix, André du (1910-1945)
André du Croix, born 13 October 1910 at Amsterdam, studied theology at the University of Amsterdam and the Mennonite Seminary at the same place. He became a ministerial candidate in 1936, and served the congregations at IJlst (1936-1939) and Winschoten (1939-1945). At the time of the occupation of the Netherlands by the German National Socialists, André du Croix was district leader of the Nederlandsche Unie (Dutch Union, an organization which tried to prevent the Germanization of the Netherlands), and when this organization was forbidden by the occupying powers, he continued his work in secret. Along with others, he founded a secret organization to forestall the murder of and revenge on Germans when the time would come for them to return to their home country. Because of this illegal work he was arrested in January 1944 in the evening while conducting a catechism class, but was released after a few days. On 14 May 1944 he was again imprisoned by the Germans and was taken from one prison to another (Groningen, Amersfoort, Vught), and on 6 September 1944, along with many others, taken to Germany, where he endured much distress. On account of his courage and loyalty, his charity and strong faith, he was able to be a support to many in prisons and concentration camps. The certainty that Christ remains victor gave him strength, and in his religious life the cross of Christ occupied a continually greater place. When André daily saw people about him dying or brought to death, he prepared himself "to expect from the Lord deliverance from sin and the
forgiveness of human guilt, and in this manner to mount up into the light of God's eternal grace and to go forth from strength to strength, in the body still on this earth, yet spiritually already living from the Reality in which time and space no longer exist" (Mesdag). This martyr of our own time died on 10 March 1945 in the notorious camp of Bergen-Belsen.
| Author(s) | Nanne van der Zijpp |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1953 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
van der Zijpp, Nanne. "Croix, André du (1910-1945)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1953. Web. 18 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Croix,_Andr%C3%A9_du_(1910-1945)&oldid=79994.
APA style
van der Zijpp, Nanne. (1953). Croix, André du (1910-1945). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 18 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Croix,_Andr%C3%A9_du_(1910-1945)&oldid=79994.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 1, pp. 741-742. All rights reserved.
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