Date of birth:

March 13th, 1907 (Den Bosch, the Netherlands)

Date of death:

June 7th, 1996 (Oosterbeek/Gelderland, the Netherlands)

Nationality:

Dutch

Edward van Hootegem completed his officer training in 1931 and began his career as a second lieutenant. At the outbreak of the Second World War, he served as a first lieutenant in the Royal Guard. During the German occupation, he was taken prisoner. From 1942 to 1944, he was held in a German POW camp in Stanislau (now Ivano-Frankivsk in Ukraine).

In early 1944, Van Hootegem managed to escape from the camp together with several other Dutch officers. In the Carpathian Mountains, they temporarily joined a unit of the Ukrainian resistance (UPA). With their assistance, the escaped soldiers reached Hungary and subsequently travelled via the Soviet Union and London, ultimately returning to the Netherlands in November 1945.

After the war, Van Hootegem became an instructor at the Dutch Staff College. He later advanced to head of the institution, a position he held for many years. His military career reached its peak when he became an army corps commander with the rank of lieutenant general. He retired from the army in 1967.

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Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Rank:

Tijdelijk Majoor (Temporary Major)

Unit:

Infantiere (Infantry)

Awarded on:

February 7th, 1948

Voordracht:
"Distinguished himself through courageous conduct against the enemy by jumping from a moving train during a transport of Dutch POW officers in January 1944 and crossing the Carpathian Mountains to reach Budapest.
He also served the Dutch and Allied causes as tactfully as possible, even after Hungary was occupied by the Germans in March 1944, as leader of the officers accompanying him, often under difficult circumstances.
Furthermore, after Budapest was occupied by the Russians at the end of December 1944, he traveled to England via Moscow-Odessa, where he reported to the Dutch government in early May 1945."

KB no 15 of the 7th of February 1948

Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Rank:

Majoor

Awarded on:

April 28th, 1952

Royal Decree no. 3

Rank:

Luitenant-generaal

Awarded on:

April 29th, 1965

Rank:

Luitenant-generaal

Awarded on:

November 17th, 1965

Rank:

Luitenant-generaal

Awarded on:

October 1967

• - ERIK MüLLER, Het Bronzen Kruis, Studiekring Ridderorden en Onderscheidingen.
  - MEIJER, H.G., Bronzen Leeuw, Bronzen Kruis, De Bataafsche Leeuw, Amsterdam, 1990.
  - SCHANDL, C.E., The London-Budapest Game, Lulu.com, 2007.
  - Onderscheiding Eduardus Johannes Camilus van Hootegem (in het jaar 1815-1993) » Open Archieven
  - Oorlogsbronnen
  - Dapperheidsonderscheidingen aan Nederlanders voor de Tweede Wereldoorlog
  - oorlogslevens
  - https://eindhovenfotos.nl/