Sjoerdtje van der Meulen

Geslacht:	Vrouw
Vader:	Lolke Pieters van der Meulen
Moeder:	Betske Pieters van der Zon
Geboren:	3 MRT 1895	Hantumhuizen, gemeente Westdongeradeel
Overleden:	31 Juli 1973
Aantekeningen:	Boersma Sjoerdje (1895 - 1973 ) Personal Information Last Name: Boersma First Name: Sjoerdje Maiden Name: Meulen van der Date of Birth: 03/03/1895 Date of death: 31/07/1973 Rescuer's fate: survived Nationality: THE NETHERLANDS Religion: CALVINIST Gender: Female Profession: FARMERS WIFE Place during the war: Twijzelermieden, Friesland, The Netherlands Rescue Place: Twijzelermieden, Friesland, The Netherlands Rescue mode: Hiding File number: File from the Collection of the Righteous Among the Nations Department (M.31.2/689) Commemoration Date of Recognition: 25/05/1971 Righteous Commemorated with Tree/Wall of Honor: Tree Ceremony organized by Israeli diplomatic delegation in: The Hague, Netherlands Ceremony held in Yad Vashem: Yes Rescued Persons Israels, Maurits Wallage, Jacques Israels, Beer de, Marta Israels, Salomon Wallage, Arnold Rescue Story Boersma, Jan & Sjoerdje (van der Meulen) & Boersma, Rinse & Frederika (Koers) Jan Boersma and his wife Sjoerdje, of Twijzelermieden, Friesland, were central figures in their large, close-knit family, which was based in the same rural area. Jan and Sjoerdje were strict Calvinists and believed that it was their religious duty to help Jews in the dark times of the occupation, despite the risks involved. The Boersma family relied solely on faith and followed the maxim: "Love thy neighbor." Jan and Sjoerdje hid Jews on their farm at the end of 1942. In 1943, Jan de Vries, an underground activist, brought Jacques Wallage to the Boersma farm. De Vries had helped Jacques escape from Westerbork and had initially hidden him with a cousin of the Boersmas' in Dokkum. However, the hideout had become unsafe within only a few weeks and so Jacques was relocated to Jan and Sjoerdje's. Jacques' wife (née de Beer) and young son, Benjamin, were already hiding with Jan's son, Rinse Boersma, and his wife, Frederika, nearby. Even though Rinse and Frederika were only recently married and lived in a small farmhouse, they unhesitatingly welcomed Jacques into their home a few weeks after he arrived at Jan and Sjoerdje's. During the war, the Boersmas also hid other members of the extended Wallage family. These included Arnold Wallage, who had managed to escape from Westerbork, and a sister-in-law, Martha de Beer, and her husband, Salomon Israels. In early 1945, Maurits Israels, Salomon's brother, who had fled from his former hiding place with Theunis and Hiske Boonstra*, and Benjamin and Helen de Beer also found shelter with various members of the Boersma family. The Boersma farm was constantly buzzing with activity. Jan opened up his farm for training sessions of the local underground and hid ammunition that was dropped near his home. During the hunger winter, he illegally slaughtered some of his cows, hid the meat in coffins, and smuggled it to starving people in Amsterdam. All the people helped during the war survived and a close friendship between the Boersmas and the Wallages was maintained afterwards. On May 25, 1971, Yad Vashem recognized Jan Boersma and his wife, Sjoerdje Boersma-van der meulen, as Righteous Among the Nations. On July 7, 1986, Yad Vashem recognized Rinse Boersma and his wife, Frederika Boersma-Koers, as Righteous Among the Nations.

Gezin 1

Huwelijkspartner:	Wessel Rozendaal	geb. 15 Apr 1892 overl. 14 Sept 1933
Huwelijk:	31 MEI 1917	Oostdongeradeel
Kinderen:
	Wiltje Rozendaal	geb. 1919 overl. 26 Dec 1944

Gezin 2

Huwelijkspartner:

geb. 8 MRT 1891 overl. 29 OKT 1981