Wilhelmina Greutink

Geslacht: Vrouw
Vader: Bernardus Greutink
Moeder: Hendrika Johanna Teunissen
Geboren: 4 Juni 1894 Vorden
Overleden: 5 Feb 1960
Religie: Ned. Hervormd
Aantekeningen: Visschers Wilhelmina (1894 - 1960 )
Personal Information
Last Name: Visschers
First Name: Wilhelmina
Maiden Name: Greutink
Date of Birth: 04/06/1894
Date of death: 05/02/1960
Rescuer's fate: survived
Nationality: THE NETHERLANDS
Religion: CALVINIST
Gender: Female
Profession: FARMER
Place during the war: Hall, Gelderland, The Netherlands
Rescue Place: Hall, Gelderland, The Netherlands
Rescue mode: Hiding
File number: File from the Collection of the Righteous Among the Nations Department (M.31.2/11614)
Commemoration
Date of Recognition: 14/06/2009
Ceremony organized by Israeli diplomatic delegation in: The Hague, Netherlands
Related links to library
Oorlog in een dorp aan de IJssel
Rescued Persons
Friedlaender, Heinz
Sagiv, Siegel, Shaul, Paul
Tal, Italiaander, Herman
Hoffman, Ludwig
Gelder van, Jacques
Rescue Story
Visschers, Johan Berend
Visschers-Greutink, Wilhelmina
In 1933, nine-year-old Paul Siegel (later, Shaul Sagiv) fled his native Koln in Germany with his parents and made it to the Netherlands. In 1940, after the German occupation of the country, Paul joined a group of Palestine pioneers in the area of Deventer, (prov. Overijssel), of mostly German-Jewish youngsters who had also fled. In the summer of 1942, all members of the group received orders to report for ‘work in the East’. Paul decided instead to look for a place to hide, along with some others from the group. After initially hiding in the woods and roaming around the area, Paul reached the hamlet of Hall in the neighboring Gelderland province, where he knocked on the door of Johan and Wilhelmina Visschers. The Visschers, in their late fifties, had a small piece of land they worked on the fringes of the forest. Their children were grown and no longer living at home. They were strict Calvinists, who were convinced that they needed to help the “People of the Book”. By the end of September 1942, the Visschers had already taken in seven Jews, among whom Jacques van Gelder, many of them of the pioneers’ Hachshara group.
The Visschers built a shack in back of their land for them to hide in. Having Paul join them in November was a matter of course and was done without hesitation. The Visschers tried to feed all with the fruit of their land. From time to time, the youngsters participated in the expenses, if they had any money. A few days after Paul’s arrival the shack was discovered by forest rangers and its existence was ‘duly’ reported to the authorities. A raid on the Visschers farm soon followed. Everyone, except for Jacques van Gelder, who managed to escape, was arrested, including Johan Visschers himself. The Jews were taken to the Westerbork transit camp, from where all, except for Paul who then managed to escape, were deported to camps in the East and perished. Paul made contact with the Westerweel* underground group and was successful in reaching Spain from where he was smuggled into the Land of Israel.
Johan Visschers was taken to the local police station and from there first to the Amersfoort concentration camp in central Holland, and then to the notorious Vught concentration camp (KZ Herzogenbusch) in the south of the Netherlands, where he was cruelly interrogated. He was let go in June 1943, physically broken, and soon died on October 29, 1943.
On June 14, 2009, Yad Vashem recognized Johan Berend Visschers and Wilhelmina Visschers-Greutink as Righteous Among the Nations.

Gezin 1

Huwelijkspartner: Hendrik Jan Lijftogt geb. 22 Juli 1882 overl. 25 Dec 1934
Huwelijk: 17 MRT 1916 Vorden
Kinderen:
  Gerrit Lijftogt Female geb. 27 MEI 1916

Gezin 2

Huwelijkspartner: Berend Johan Visschers geb. 6 Feb 1883 overl. 29 OKT 1943