Maria Petronella Geelen
| Geslacht: | Vrouw | |
| Vader: | Matthias Geelen | |
| Moeder: | Maria Catharina Lommen | |
| Geboren: | 4 Nov 1902 | Velden |
| Overleden: | 10 Jan 1982 | |
| Aantekeningen: | Beeker Maria (1902 - 1982 ) Personal Information Last Name: Beeker First Name: Maria Petronella Maiden Name: Geelen Date of Birth: 04/11/1902 Date of death: 10/01/1982 Rescuer's fate: survived Nationality: THE NETHERLANDS Religion: ROMAN CATHOLIC Gender: Female Profession: FARMERS WIFE Place during the war: Grubbenvorst, Limburg, The Netherlands Rescue Place: Grubbenvorst, Limburg, The Netherlands Rescue mode: Hiding File number: File from the Collection of the Righteous Among the Nations Department (M.31.2/11019) Commemoration Date of Recognition: 11/03/2007 Righteous Commemorated with Tree/Wall of Honor: Wall of Honor Ceremony organized by Israeli diplomatic delegation in: The Hague, Netherlands Rescued Persons Veen van der, Emanuel Rescue Story Beeker, Petrus Jacobus (10.3.1902 24.12.1983) Beeker-Geelen, Maria Petronella (4.11.1902 10.1.1982) Emanuel van der Veen, born in 1938, and his older brother, Mozes van der Veen (later Moshe Agmon), born in 1932, were living in Amsterdam, where they attended public school. With the intensification of the anti-Jewish measures and the start of the razzias in the city, they narrowly escaped a number of times by running to neighbors or to the roof of their building. However, with the start of the systematic deportation of the Jews for work in the East in the summer of 1942, their parents, Jacob and Femmina van der Veen (née Waterman), decided to try and find hiding places for their children first. A woman who was part of an underground network and unknown to them, took the children to the village of Grubbenvorst (prov. Limburg), where the local priest, Henricus Vullinghs*, was encouraging his parishioners to hide mostly Jewish children. Mozes was taken to the Hendrikx* family in nearby Horst, whereas Emanuel was taken in by Petrus and Maria Beeker, a Roman Catholic farming family in Grubbenvorst village itself. They already had six children of their own, born between 1929 and 1936; one of them, Coen, was the same age as Emanuel. The two became close playmates. Emanuel, now going by the name Wim, could not, however, go to school, as his presence with the Beekers was to be a secret since he did not have false identity papers. He passed the days by helping out on the farm and stayed around the farmhouse at all times. Once, his older brother Mozes secretly came to the farm, longing to see his little brother. The presence of Emanuel with the Beekers was extremely dangerous, as there were persistent rumors of hidden Jews and later downed allied pilots. Especially after the arrest of Father Vullinghs in May 1944, the presence of the Jews in hiding became precarious for all, as he knew the whereabouts of each one. In addition, there was a heavy German SS presence in the village at all times, sometimes even billeted in the homes of villagers, as was the case with the Beekers. Yet, Petrus and Maria decided to keep Emanuel with them, fully realizing the risk they were taking for themselves and their children. Emanuel stayed with the family until the liberation of the village in September 1944. The parents of the van der Veen brothers were betrayed at their hiding address and deported. They were both murdered in Auschwitz in 1944. As no other direct family members had survived, the van der Veen brothers found themselves in various orphanages, until they immigrated to Israel. Benjamin tragically fell in the Six Day War in 1967. On March 11, 2007, Yad Vashem recognized Petrus Jacobus Beeker and Maria Petronella Beeker-Geelen as Righteous Among the Nations. |
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Gezin 1
| Huwelijkspartner: | Petrus Jacobus Beeker | geb. 10 MRT 1902 |
| Huwelijk: | 1 Feb 1929 | Arcen en Velden |