Hendrik Jacob Vullinghs

Geslacht: Man
Vader: Jan Lambert Hendrik Vullinghs
Moeder: Maria Roelanda van den Bosch
Geboren: 14 Sept 1883 Sevenum
Overleden: 9 Apr 1945 Bergen-Belsen
Beroep: pastoor
Aantekeningen: Vullinghs Henricus (1883 - 1945 )
Personal Information
Last Name: Vullinghs
First Name: Henricus
Jacob
Date of Birth: 14/09/1883
Date of death: 09/04/1945
Rescuer's fate: murdered
Cause of Death: EXHAUSTION
Nationality: THE NETHERLANDS
Religion: CATHOLIC
Gender: Male
Profession: PRIEST
Organization/ Religious order: Westerweel Groep
Organization/ Religious order: LO - Landelijke Organisatie
Place during the war: Grubbenvorst, Limburg, The Netherlands
Bergen Belsen, Camp, Germany
Rescue Place: Grubbenvorst, Limburg, The Netherlands
Rescue mode: Arranging shelter
File number: File from the Collection of the Righteous Among the Nations Department (M.31.2/6339)
Commemoration
Date of Recognition: 14/11/1994
Righteous Commemorated with Tree/Wall of Honor: Wall of Honor
Ceremony organized by Israeli diplomatic delegation in: The Hague, Netherlands
Rescue Story
Vullinghs, Henricus Jacob
Father Henricus Vullinghs saved the lives of at least 43 Jewish refugees with the help of his co-workers in his Resistance cell. Vullinghs, the elderly pastor of Grubbenvorst, an almost entirely Catholic village, had already been active in the Resistance when this division of tasks was in the making. Up until then, he had helped French prisoners of war and downed Allied pilots. In the summer of 1942, just after the deportation of Jews from Amsterdam began, the first Jewish refugees arrived in Grubbenvorst. Henricus Vullinghs provided safe houses for all the Jews sent to him. Among the people instrumental in organizing their arrival were the Amsterdam journalist and Resistance worker Matthieu Smedts and two home economics teachers at the Van Deth School on Nieuwe Prinsengracht, Amsterdam, Cornelia Ouweleen* and Mies Hoefsmit*, both of whom had many Jewish students in their classes. They had chosen Grubbenvorst for their refugees more or less by coincidence. The journalist Smedts, however, was a close friend of Vullinghs from before the war. Another important source of incoming Jewish fugitives was the Westerweel* group. Eventually, Henricus Vullinghs became one of the most active representatives of the LO in Limburg, working alongside many others, including the curate Jean Slots. Vullinghs ensured that the Jews were able to find shelter with farmers in the area but did not always tell the hosts that the fugitives were Jewish. Once a local family knew that they had taken Jews into their home, the fugitives were usually allowed to stay. Vullinghs arranged addresses in such nearby communities as America, Horst-Meterik, Broekhuizen, Broekhuizenvorst, Oirlo, and Sevenum. He was indefatigable and regularly visited the guests to check on their well-being. Early in May 1944, Father Vullinghs was arrested. He died in Bergen-Belsen in 1945. After the war, Ben Visser’s father, who had also been rescued by the pastor, wrote a Requiem Mass in his memory.
On November 14, 1994, Yad Vashem recognized Henricus Jacob Vullinghs as Righteous Among the Nations.