Jetty Paerl

Jetty Paerl (née Henriette Nanette Paerl; 27 May 1921 – 22 August 2013) was a Dutch singer, who was most famous in the 1950s and 1960s. She was married to Dutch artist Cees Bantzinger.

Born in Amsterdam, she lived in London during the occupation of the Netherlands by Nazi Germany during World War II. There she participated in the broadcasts of Radio Oranje, the Dutch government in exile, and was known as Jetje van Radio Oranje ("Jetty of Radio Orange"). She appears in episode 18 of the 1970s ITV documentary The World at War. In 1956 she represented the Netherlands as the first performer in the very first Eurovision Song Contest with the song "De Vogels Van Holland" (The Birds of Holland) written by Annie M.G. Schmidt and composed by Cor Lemaire. Paerl thereby secured her place in history, by starting off the entire Eurovision Song Contest. At the time the contest was only broadcast via radio, and only the winning song was announced.

She died in Amstelveen on 22 August 2013, aged 92.

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