Cornelis van Asma

Geslacht: Man
Vader: Meindert van Asma
Moeder: Jetske Ypma
Geboren: 12 OKT 1896 Heeg, gemeente Wymbritseradeel
Overleden: 24 Jan 1973
Beroep: landbouwer
Aantekeningen: Personal Information
Last Name: Asma van
First Name: Cornelis
Alias: CEES
Date of Birth: 12/10/1896
Date of death: 24/01/1973
Rescuer's fate: survived
Nationality: THE NETHERLANDS
Religion: ROMAN CATHOLIC
Gender: Male
Profession: FARM WORKER
Rescue
Place during the war: Lemmer, Friesland, The Netherlands
Rescue Place: Lemmer, Friesland, The Netherlands
Rescue mode: Hiding
File number: File from the Collection of the Righteous Among the Nations Department (M.31.2/2499)
Commemoration
Date of Recognition: 10/02/1983
Righteous Commemorated with Tree/Wall of Honor: Wall of Honor
Rescued Persons
Kats, Kahn, Paulina
Kats, Salomon
Rescue Story
Asma van, Cornelis & Maria (de Jong)
Cornelis (Cees) van Asma was a resident of Lemmer, Friesland. Cees, a Catholic, had a family of seven and was employed in quality control at a nearby dairy farm in Heeg. Paulina Kats-Kahn and her husband, Salomon Kats, were originally from Meppel. They had been in hiding at the Vermeulens* in Breda, North Brabant, but were obliged to leave. They first went to Sneek and then sought refuge in Lemmer. Paulina and Salomon made the perilous journey from Sneek to Lemmer on foot. Upon their arrival in Lemmer, the couple was greeted with an unforgettable reception from the van Asmas. You are welcome here, Cees told them. The Kats family stayed at the van Asmas until the end of the war. Cees could bring butter and milk home from the dairy, and there was always enough for Paulina and Salomon. The couple cooked separately; indeed they had their own bedroom upstairs and ventured out freely in the guise of evacuees from Arnhem. (Dirk Onderweegs* had already provided Paulina and Salomon with false identity cards that afforded the couple freedom of movement.) Salomon felt that he should compensate the van Asmas for their benevolence. Cees would not hear of any such thing. He insisted that money was not an issue and that the important thing was to save Jewish lives. Despite this, the Katses’ did contribute financially, in a small way, towards the van Asmas’ expenses. Relations between the two families were excellent. They even enjoyed deceiving the Germans together. On one occasion, one of the van Asma sons was unwell and so Salomon substituted for him in the barbershop where he worked. Salomon, in the boy’s stead, shampooed the customers, including the Germans, who tipped him generously.
On February 10, 1983, Yad Vashem recognized Cornelis van Asma and his wife, Maria van Asma-de Jong, as Righteous Among the Nations.

Gezin 1

Huwelijkspartner: Maria de Jong geb. 2 Dec 1894 overl. 6 Nov 1990
Huwelijk: 11 MEI 1922 Lemsterland