Ruurd Braak

Geslacht:	Man
Vader:	Jacob Braak
Moeder:	Ykje Cuperus
Geboren:	2 Feb 1910	Ferwerd, Ferwerderadeel
Overleden:	30 OKT 1998	onbekend
Aantekeningen:	Last Name: Braak First Name: Ruurd Rescuer's fate: survived Nationality: THE NETHERLANDS Gender: Male Place during the war: Ferwerd, Friesland, The Netherlands Rescue Place: Ferwerd, Friesland, The Netherlands Rescue mode: Hiding File number: File from the Collection of the Righteous Among the Nations Department (M.31.2/1260) Willy Birnbaum was six years old when he arrived at the home of Ruurd and Jantje Braak in Ferwerd, Friesland, in November 1943. The childless couple took the young boy into their home and cared for him with devotion and warmth until the end of the war. Before the war, Willy had lived in Muiderberg, North Holland, where his father was the caretaker of the local Jewish cemetery. With the help of a contact who was active in the underground, the Jewish family was able to find hiding places for three of their children. In Ferwerd, Ruurd and Jantje told people that Willy was the son of a close friend who had been killed when the Germans bombed the Fokker factory near Amsterdam. Willy lived a relatively normal life. Willy soon learned Frisian and grew to love his foster parents and his life in the small village. Even though the Braaks were devout Christians, they had the sensitivity to read only from the Old Testament in Willy's presence. The family doctor was their contact with the underground and Ruurd and Jantje were also involved in the Resistance in their village, where 40 Jewish children were sheltered during the war. Willy's parents, hidden in another village, were betrayed and sent to Auschwitz. Knowing this, the childless Braak couple could conceivably have kept Willy as their son. However, after the war, Ruurd and Jantje went to the Jewish community in the nearby city of Leeuwarden and expressed their willingness to give up their foster child to a Jewish family in order for him to receive a Jewish education. However, Willy's mother survived and she herself took Willy back. The Braaks never asked for any financial remuneration for sheltering the Jewish boy. On March 14, 1978, Yad Vashem recognized Ruurd Braak and his wife, Jantje Braak, as Righteous Among the Nations.

Gezin 1

Huwelijkspartner:	Jantje Timmermans	geb. 29 Nov 1906 overl. 20 Nov 1991
Huwelijk:	12 MEI 1938	Ferwerderadeel