Date of birth:

February 18th, 1907 (Aarlanderveen, The Netherlands)

Date of death:

October 12th, 1944 (Westerbork, The Netherlands)

Nationality:

Dutch (1815-present, Kingdom)

Lived in Groningen, Nassaulaan 27. Son of shopkeeper/trader Arend Jan Grobbe (22 November 1877 Zelhem - 4 December 1933 The Hague) and Alida Martina Hoogteijling (18 July 1881 Alphen - 15 September 1946 Waardenburg). Married to Neeltje Cornelia van Donk (11 Mar 1903 Alphen). Representative. Dutch Reformed. Member of the resistance under the pseudonym Van Leuven. He was part of the K-Group in the city of Groningen. According to his resistance card, he also developed resistance activities for the Nulgroep (LO). He acted as (chief) courier of the resistance group of Hessel van der Zee (K-groep). After betrayal, he was arrested by the SD on 9 October 1944 at his hiding place. During the interrogation, he was beaten by Kindel (1*), Drost (2*) and a third SD employee. He was, writes Brinks, one of the first against whom the sheepdog Astrid (3*) was incited. It has been seen that Grobbe was covered in dog bites. Three days after his arrest, he was executed with sixteen others in Camp Westerbork. His wife only learned a year later that her husband had been shot.
(1*) Josef Kindel (23 November 1912 Cologne – 5 August 1948 Almelo)
(2*) Evert Cornelis Drost (29 July 1906 Langbroek – executed 28 July 1949 Groningen).
(3*) Astrid originally belonged to Polizeiangestellte Zacharias Sleijfer, but Kindel regularly took care of the animal. In February 1945, the German took over the dog from Sleijfer. His colleague Harm Bouman called Astrid an 'evil beast'.

Grobbe was cremated in Camp Westerbork. On November 2, 1945, a symbolic interment with one urn took place in Groningen at the Municipal Cemetery Esserveld.

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• Photo 1: Rob Götte
• Oorlogs- en Verzetscentrum Groningen; Monique Brinks, Het Scholtenhuis 1940-1945, deel 1: Daden, Profiel Uitgeverij, Bedum/Oorlogs- en Verzetscentrum Groningen, 2009; LO/LKP, Het Grote Gebod; Oorlogsgravenstichting; voormalige site Genlias/site wiewaswie.nl/site Alle Groningers (waaronder overlijdensakten 103/1945 gemeente Westerbork en 2761/1945 gemeente Groningen); site geneanet.org.