Sijke Gorter
| Geslacht: | Vrouw | |
| Vader: | Hendrik Gorter | |
| Moeder: | Sabilla Elyzabeth Docter | |
| Geboren: | 23 Apr 1893 | Ooststellingwerf |
| Aantekeningen: | Last Name: Gorter First Name: Sijke Date of Birth: 23/04/1893 Date of death: 11/07/1981 Rescuer's fate: survived imprisoned Nationality: THE NETHERLANDS Gender: Female Profession: Manager Place during the war: Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands Rescue Place: Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands Rescue mode: Hiding Providing forged documents Supplying basic goods Other File number: File from the Collection of the Righteous Among the Nations Department (M.31.2/108) Before the war, Abraham Asscher, then Chief Rabbi of the province of Groningen, lived in the city of Groningen with his family. When the war broke out, Sijke Gorter, a neighbor and the headmistress of a local teachers seminary, became anxious about the deteriorating conditions of the Jews. In August 1942, two of the rabbis sons, Meir and Isaac, came to Sijke looking for shelter. Their mother, Clara (née Pinkhof), a writer and teacher, had moved to Amsterdam with her daughter, Fieke (Sophie), in the fall of 1941. Since then, Meir and Isaac had been living in a rented apartment in Groningen. In the summer of 1942, the two brothers were ordered to register for forced labor, but they refused to comply. Consequently, in August of that year, they contacted Sijke, looking for a hideout. Sijke agreed to hide them in her home until a safer place could be found. After a few months, Isaac was moved to a hideout in Friesland, where he was later betrayed, arrested by the Dutch police, and then murdered in Auschwitz. When his connection to Sijke was uncovered, she too was arrested and imprisoned for about two months. She was released and resumed her illegal activities. During the war Sijke also hid Flory Asscher-Tal, the wife of Elie, another of Rabbi Asschers sons. She stayed with Sijke until 1943, when she was relocated to a safer address. Also, in February 1943, Sijke traveled to Amsterdam to visit Clara and Fieke. The purpose of the visit was to convince the two women to return to Groningen and go into hiding. Clara decided to stay and Fieke returned to Groningen. Sijke had anticipated her decision and had already prepared false identity papers for her. Sijkes sister and brother-in-law, and one of their daughters, had helped prepare the papers. An underground worker met Sijke and Fieke at Groningen station and escorted Fieke to her hideout. During the course of the war, Sijke also helped many people aside from the Asscher family. Her home was often used as a temporary shelter for fugitives being relocated to new hideouts. Sijke stayed in touch with everyone who passed through her home and continued to provide food stamps and financial support to their new hosts. After the war, contact between Sijke and the Asscher family was maintained. On November 1964, Yad Vashem recognized Sijke Gorter as Righteous Among the Nations. |
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