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
Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest 1956
Jetty Paerl