Elisabeth van Doorninck
| Geslacht: | Vrouw | |
| Vader: | Adam van Doorninck | |
| Moeder: | Grietje van der Spek | |
| Geboren: | 20 OKT 1925 | Abedan |
| Aantekeningen: | Last Name: Doorninck van First Name: Elisabeth Alias: BEP Date of Birth: 26/09/1925 Rescuer's fate: survived Nationality: THE NETHERLANDS Gender: Female Place during the war: Deventer, Overijssel, The Netherlands Rescue Place: Deventer, Overijssel, The Netherlands Rescue mode: Hiding File number: File from the Collection of the Righteous Among the Nations Department (M.31.2/4821) Grietje van Doorninck was living in Indonesia with her husband and six children. In 1940, she was on vacation in Holland with her children when the war broke out. Thus, she was unable to return home. In the meantime, her husband, a lawyer, was arrested by the Japanese and imprisoned in Indonesia. Grietje was anti-Nazi and decided to do anything possible in order to resist the German authorities. When Grietje was asked to shelter a number of Jews, she convened her children, Bep, Theodora, Catharina, Adam, as well as their Indonesian servant, explaining that this would mean a joint family effort. They all agreed to do their share. Grietje rented a big house in Deventer, Overijssel, and, soon persecuted people arrived, including American pilots, Dutch men who were evading forced labor in Germany, Italian prisoners-of-war who had escaped, and many Jews. Grietje sold her jewelry in order to be able to afford to finance her hospitality. Mother van Doorninck, a nurse, was very active in the local resistance and was frequently away from home and so Bep assumed responsibility for the household. Bep did most of the shopping and in the last winter of the war she traveled by bicycle through the villages in search of extra food. Adam took it upon himself to make sure all hiders were in their secure place inside the home. From 1942 onward, at least eight Jews hid in the van Doornincks' home for various lengths of time. Among them were Klara Marianna Keizer, a young Jew engaged to a non-Jew, who also hid with the Doornincks from September 1944 until the liberation of Deventer on April 10, 1945. From the end of 1943 until the liberation, David and Doortje Kater hid with the van Doornincks, as did Mrs. Kapsenberg and her son Tom, and Mr. and Mrs. de Leeuw. Sam and Martha Noach also joined the van Doornincks' extended household from time to time. On one occasion, as a result of betrayal, four German policemen came to search the house. Grietje instructed the Indonesian servant to pretend she did not understand their orders so the fugitives had time to hide in prepared shelters. When Grietje eventually ushered in the policemen, they were unable to find anything suspicious. With the increasing bombardments on the city of Deventer, mother van Doorninck dedicated herself almost entirely to caring for the wounded. It was then that daughter Catharina took charge of the household and those who were in hiding. Also daughter Theodora took an active part in the rescue efforts at home from then on until the liberation in the spring of 1945. After the war, Grietje received a distinction from President Eisenhower for rescuing two downed American pilots. She had also been active in the Dutch Red Cross and the Dutch government therefore presented her with the high distinction---the Dutch Resistance Commemorative Cross. On January 2, 1991, Yad Vashem recognized Grietje van Doorninck-van der Spek and her children , Elisabeth van Doorninck, Catharine van Doorninck, Theodora van Doorninck and Adam van Doorninck as Righteous Among the Nations. |
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