Jacoba Covens
| Geslacht: | Vrouw | |
| Vader: | Henricus Everardus Covens | |
| Moeder: | Maria Alida Wijsman | |
| Geboren: | 9 Juli 1912 | Amsterdam |
| Overleden: | 28 Apr 2008 | Baarn |
| Aantekeningen: | Last Name: Covens First Name: Jacoba Date of Birth: 09/07/1912 Rescuer's fate: survived Nationality: THE NETHERLANDS Gender: Female Place during the war: Baarn, Utrecht, The Netherlands Rescue Place: Baarn, Utrecht, The Netherlands Rescue mode: Hiding File number: File from the Collection of the Righteous Among the Nations Department (M.31.2/3173) In 1942, the Waisvisz family was living in The Hague. When the father of the family was ordered to report to a labor camp in the east, Nicolette Bruining* placed the eldest daughter, Elisabeth (later Edna Heruti), as a live-in servant with Jacoba van Tongeren* in Amsterdam. One day a former classmate, who had since joined the NSB, recognized Elisabeth as she was riding along on her bicycle. He reported her to the police and circulated a description of Elisabeth to several police stations. Elisabeth immediately traveled by train to The Hague, to where her parents were hiding. After a few days, Bruining put her in touch with Jacoba Covens, who lived in Baarn, Utrecht, with her parents, Henricus and Maria Covens, and offered her shelter there. Maria's 94-year-old mother also lived with the Covens family. Jacoba's sister, Henrietta, was an active member of the underground and lived in Amsterdam working as a graphic artist. Throughout the war, Henrietta kept in contact with Elisabeth's ten-year-old sister, Anita. Also, when the need arose, Henrietta produced false identity papers for Elisabeth's parents. The Covenses lived in a beautiful home surrounded by a garden full of flowers. In April 1943, a German officer who coveted the house began to pay surprise visits in order to inspect the rooms. After a while, the officer confiscated the house and ordered the inhabitants to move into a large but dilapidated house nearby. Jacoba decided that Elisabeth should not remain with them while they were moving and notwithstanding the danger she accompanied Elisabeth to her parents' hideout in The Hague. One week later, Jacoba returned to The Hague to fetch Elisabeth and bring her "home" to Baarn. Two weeks later, Elisabeth's parents were betrayed and deported to Sobibor, where they were murdered in May 1943. In the meantime, an additional problem had developed in Baarn. The Covenses' new house was so big that the Germans decided that it could easily accommodate two families. Fortunately, the family that joined the Covenses was decent and could be trusted. In the summer of 1944, another German officer wanted the house where the two families had been living for about a year. Once, the officer appeared so suddenly at the property that Elisabeth did not have time to disappear. The officer ordered the two families to relocate to a small house, where there was really not enough room to accommodate Elisabeth. Consequently, Jacoba escorted her to an address in 's Graveland, North Holland, and from there to Haarlem, where Elisabeth remained until the end of the war. On April 14, 1985, Yad Vashem recognized Henricus Everardus Covens, his wife, Maria Alida Covens-Wijsman, and their daughters, Jacoba Covens and Henrietta Maria Covens, as Righteous Among the Nations. |
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