• Florentine 'Florrie' Rost van Tonningen (November 14, 1914 – March 24, 2007) was the wife of Meinoud Rost van Tonningen. Meinoud was a leading figure in the National Socialist Movement in the Netherlands (NSB) and was also the president of the country’s central bank during WW2 (1941–1945). He was murdered after surrendering to the Allies, his body thrown in a mass grave. In 1990 Florentine published her memoir, entitled 'Op Zoek Naar Mijn Huwelijksring' or 'In Search of My Wedding Ring'.

    [Below: Florentine Rost van Tonningen (far right) with Dutch NSB leader Anton Mussert during an inspection of an early wartime camp of the NSVO.]

    [Below: Florentine Sophie Heubel and Meinoud Rost van Tonningen tying the knot. On December 21, 1940, the day of the Winter Solstice, Florentine married Meinoud . Their wedding became the first SS marriage. Heinrich Himmler was the best man! It is said that Adolf Hitler even kissed her wedding ring!]

    [Below: Florentine's wedding ring said to be kissed by Adolf Hitler. She wore it for 67 years and treated it as a holy relic.]

    [Below: Florentine was an honorable and defiant woman until her death. She never backed down about her beliefs, despite violence, tremendous pressure and opposition.]

    Florentine's beloved husband, Meinoud, was tortured and murdered by victorious Allies. She spent her whole life trying to learn of her husband's last hours. But it was all in vain. Like any murdering criminal, they hid their crimes. The quote below illustrates the dark and terrible crime.

    'I never received official notice of my husband’s death, which authorities later claimed was a suicide. They have never produced any evidence to support this claim: the records pertaining to my husband have been sealed until the year 2069.
    I was presented, however, with a bill from the municipal sanitation service of The Hague, for on June 6, 1945, the day of my husband’s death, his remains were transferred, first from the prison to a hospital and then to a cemetery, in a garbage truck.'
    -Florentine Rost van Tonningen, the Ninth IHR Conference, February 18-20, 1989 in Huntington Beach, California.

    [Below: Florentine is on the left]

    [Below: Circa 1985.]

    [Below: Florentine's 88th birthday!]

    [Below: Buried in Rheden, "Heiderust" cemetery.

  • Read about Florentine Tonningen in her own words:

  • For Holland and for Europe: The Life and Death of Dr. M.M. Rost van Tonningen
  • Florentine Tonningen was also a gifted artist.
    In February 1994 she published a series of illustrated postcards of her paintings, which were also published in a short booklet called 'Licht en Kleur' (Light and Color).

  • The following pictures are of Florentine's husband Meinoud.

    [Below: Meinoud speakinng before the NSB (Nationaal-Socialistische Beweging in Nederland, or National Socialist Movement in the Netherlands).]

    [Below: Meinoud's SS identification book.]

    [Below: Himmler picture autographed and addressed to 'Rost van Tonningen'.]

    [Below: Booklet of a speech by Meinoud.]