the vrije groepen amsterdam (vga, "free groups of amsterdam") was a federation of dutch resistance groups in amsterdam during the final years of world war ii. the vga was founded in late 1943 to coordinate the activities of amsterdam's resistance groups. the groups counted some 350 members, about a fifth of whom had a jewish or part-jewish background. the vga focused primarily on hiding jews from the nazis and caring for jews in hiding. their activities included distributing falsified identification documents, as well as ration cards and financial support, to jews and others in hiding (so-called "onderduikers") and to members of the resistance movement.