Antje van Ekris
| Geslacht: | Vrouw | |
| Vader: | Gerrit van Ekris | |
| Moeder: | Trijntje Pel | |
| Geboren: | 8 Jan 1917 | Breukelen |
| Overleden: | 14 OKT 2003 | Amersfoort |
| Aantekeningen: | Last Name: Geest van First Name: Antje Maiden Name: Ekris van Date of Birth: 08/01/1917 Rescuer's fate: survived Nationality: THE NETHERLANDS Gender: Female Place during the war: Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands Rescue Place: Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands Rescue mode: Hiding Arranging shelter File number: File from the Collection of the Righteous Among the Nations Department (M.31.2/3410) Blima Szmulewicz came to the Netherlands in 1935 at the age of 22 with her sister Sarah as a refugee from Poland. They found a place to live in The Hague, but as Jews who had arrived after 1933, they were ordered by the German authorities to leave the coastal area. They found a room with the van Geest family in the city of Utrecht. The van Geests had five children, three of whom were married and no longer living at home. Blima and Sarah found jobs in Utrecht and were able to pay rent. In 1942, when the deportation of Jews began, the van Geests suggested that Blima and Sarah go into hiding: Sarah went to hide with one of their sons in nearby Breukelen and Blima went to another of the sons, Marinus, and his wife, Antje, living in Utrecht. Marinus and Antje both worked, so Blima was alone during the day and stayed mostly in the attic so that the neighbors would not hear her. She could not even flush the toilet for fear of being discovered. After a few months, the stress of being found out and the fear for Marinus and Antjes well-being became too much for her and she decided to move to another hiding place. Marinus and Antje told her that she could always turn to them in times of need. Although Blima found other hiding places through friends, none of them was safe enough and she was even arrested at one point and put on a train to be deported. She managed to escape and went directly to Marinus van Geest, who found her alternative hiding places through his relatives and later on through members of the Resistance. Most of the time, he accompanied her to the hiding place despite the danger, of which he was fully aware. Marinus and his wife helped Blima throughout the war out of purely humanitarian motives, never expecting any compensation for their acts. On May 8, 1986, Yad Vashem recognized Marinus Willem van Geest and his wife, Antje van Geest-van Ekris, as Righteous Among the Nations. |
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Gezin 1
| Huwelijkspartner: | Marinus Willem van Geest | geb. 8 Feb 1914 overl. 1 Nov 1985 |
| Huwelijk: | 13 Dec 1939 | Utrecht |