Maria Maatje Foortse
| Geslacht: | Vrouw | |
| Vader: | Frans Foortse | |
| Moeder: | Lamberdina Dirkje Ton | |
| Geboren: | 13 Nov 1900 | Den Haag |
| Overleden: | 3 Juni 1960 | Den Haag |
| Religie: | Ned. Hervormd | |
| Aantekeningen: | Last Name: Dien van First Name: Maria Maatje Maiden Name: Foortse Date of Birth: 13/11/1900 Date of death: 03/06/1960 Rescuer's fate: survived imprisoned Nationality: THE NETHERLANDS Gender: Female Place during the war: Hague, Zuidholland, The Netherlands Rescue Place: Hague, Zuidholland, The Netherlands Rescue mode: Hiding File number: File from the Collection of the Righteous Among the Nations Department (M.31.2/1500) Kurt Lewin was a 23-year-old Jew active in the underground and wanted by the SD. He arrived at the van DiensÂ’ home on July 15, 1943. The SD arrested the Menalda family, neighbors and close friends of the van Diens. Lewin had been hiding with the Menalda family and this proved to him that he was being followed. During the search for Lewin, Jacobus and his wife, who had two small children, were also arrested. Jacobus was a police sergeant, and as such must have been aware of the methods of interrogation used by the Germans, but this did not stop him from helping Lewin and another young Jewish man. Both the van Diens claimed in their interrogation that they did not know that the person hiding in their home was Jewish, because they never saw him wearing the yellow star. They claimed that he had run away and that they did not know where he was. While under arrest, the couple was tortured and came close to breaking and confessing. Maria was released after ten days of interrogation but her husband was detained for four weeks. After his release, he was allowed to resume his position in the police force, but he did not cease his underground activities with the Okma group. He acted as a consultant, assisting them in procuring ration cards for the five Jews that were hiding in their home (Lewin and another two Jewish couples). Van Dien carried on with these activities for two years. After the war, the Queen of Holland awarded Jacobus with the Order of the Ridder in the Oranje-Nassau for his wartime activities. On November 30, 1978, Yad Vashem recognized Jacobus Teunis van Dien and his wife, Maria Maatje van Dien-Foortse, as Righteous Among the Nations. |
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Gezin 1
| Huwelijkspartner: | Teunis Jacobus van Dien | geb. 16 Apr 1907 overl. 1 Juli 1985 |
| Huwelijk: | 30 Jan 1929 | Den Haag |