Fundacion Parke Boy Ecury
Aruba’s Hero of the Resistance
Boy Ecury left Aruba as a student and became a Dutch resistance hero during World War II. This foundation keeps his story and monuments alive.
Our Monuments
Who Was Boy Ecury?
Boy Ecury, born Segundo Jorge Adelberto Ecury on 23 April 1922 in Oranjestad, is Aruba’s national hero and one of the most notable Caribbean members of the Dutch resistance in the Second World War. The seventh of thirteen children in a prosperous Catholic family, he was sent to the Netherlands at fifteen to study, where he earned a commerce diploma. As a young Afro-Caribbean student he faced discrimination, and combined with his religious and moral upbringing, this shaped his strong sense of justice and responsibility.
When Nazi Germany occupied the Netherlands in May 1940, Boy chose not to return to Aruba but to resist. Through fellow student Luis de Lannoy and others, he joined the underground, sabotaging German vehicles and trains, helping Allied pilots, distributing illegal newspapers and hiding civilians while living under false names.
Betrayed and arrested in November 1944, he was tortured in the Oranjehotel but refused to betray his comrades, and was executed on 6 November 1944 at the Waalsdorpervlakte at just twenty-two years old. Today his name appears on statues, schools, streets and cultural events in Aruba and the Netherlands, symbolising Aruba’s important role in wider World War II history.
Our Goal
The aim of this website and of Fundacion Parke Boy Ecury is to keep Boy Ecury’s story alive in a way that is accessible, accurate and meaningful for a wide audience. We want people from Aruba and abroad to discover that a young man from a small Caribbean island played a significant role in the European resistance during World War II, and that his choices still have something to say to us today.
Our goal is to connect three elements: history, place and education. History is represented by Boy’s life – his upbringing in Oranjestad, his decision to remain in the Netherlands, his work in the resistance and his execution at twenty-two. Place is represented by the monuments, buildings and neighbourhoods that tell parts of this story, from the statue and museum to the streets of Rancho and the plaques and murals scattered across the island. Education is the bridge that brings history and place together, whether through school visits, guided tours, online resources or personal exploration.
By documenting these sites, offering background information and sharing practical visiting tips, the foundation hopes to make it easier for teachers, students, researchers, tourists and locals to engage with Boy Ecury’s legacy. This includes encouraging schools in Aruba to integrate his story into lessons, supporting cultural initiatives that reference him and providing resources in multiple languages for international visitors.
Ultimately, our goal is not only to honour a hero of the past, but also to inspire present and future generations to think about courage, responsibility and the importance of standing up against discrimination and oppression wherever they occur.
Our Partners and Sponsors
