Sunday, July 24, 2011

Dutch woman, 96, admits mistaken murder in 1946

A 96-year-old woman has confessed to the 1946 murder of a prominent businessman whom she mistakenly believed had been a Nazi collaborator during World War 2, the AP reports.

Though Felix Guje was acquitted of being a Nazi collaborator, rumors persisted.  On March 1, 1946, Atie Visser, who worked for the resistance after Germany occupied the Netherlands, shot Gulje in the chest when he came to the door of his home.  Gulje was the head of a construction company and being considered for a high politcal post.

It turned out that Gulje had sheltered some Jews and given money to help hide others.

AP writes that "the failure to find the assassin became a point of contention among political parties."

Today, the mayor of Leiden stepped forward with the admission by Atie Ridder-Visser, whom he described as "a very old, very frail woman who hears poorly, is disabled and needs help."

Last month she met two of Gulje's grandchildren to explain what happened and why.

She will not be prosecuted, the mayor said.

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