Karel Gerardus Eckhart
| Geslacht: | Man | |
| Vader: | ||
| Moeder: | Geertruida Christina Eckhart | |
| Geboren: | 6 Nov 1914 | Den Haag |
| Aantekeningen: | naamsverandering achternaam, was : van Aaken JEANNE HERMINA CLASINA VAN AAKEN 19-07-1889 Den Haag, dochter van Gerardus Bernardus van Aaken en Cornelia Adriana de Weille. Huwt te Den Haag 25 aug 1911 Anton Ferdinand Heijmann Last Name: Eckhart First Name: Karel Date of Birth: 01/01/1914 Date of death: 01/01/1992 Rescuer's fate: survived Nationality: THE NETHERLANDS Gender: Male Place during the war: Haag, Zuidholland, The Netherlands ; Gouda, Zuidholland, The Netherlands Rescue Place: Haag, Zuidholland, The Netherlands ; Gouda, Zuidholland, The Netherlands Rescue mode: Hiding File number: File from the Collection of the Righteous Among the Nations Department (M.31.2/10177) Geertruida Eckhart, in her fifties, managed a boarding school in the Hague, along anthroposophy principles, together with her adopted son Karel and, since 1939, with his wife Elisabeth (Else). As anthroposophy principles were forbidden by the Nazi regime in 1941, the School was forced to close. The three Eckharts then moved elsewhere in the city. On September 15, 1942, a daughter was born to the young Eckharts, and that very same evening the 15-month-old Jewish child, Lisette van Vlijmen, was brought to their home. Lisette's parents, Ies and Stella van Vlijmen, had been living in Hilversum, but were forced to move to Amsterdam at the beginning of 1942. With the onset of the summons for "work in the East", they decided to look for a hiding address for Lisette. A solution was found through their connections with Dr. Phillip Fiedeldy Dop*, a pediatrician in Amsterdam who had a large Jewish clientele. He was working closely with the Utrecht-based Children's Committee (UKC), a student underground group. Lisette was taken to the Eckharts by Wouter van Zeytveld*, one of the couriers for the UKC. The Eckharts opened their home even though their own baby was born that same day. One month later, in October 1942, two other Jewish children, five-year-old Harry and his three year-old sister Beatrix Rothe were also welcomed into the Eckharts' home. The Rothe children were originally from Germany, but their parents had fled to the Netherlands after the Kristallnacht pogrom in November 1938. Some time later, nine-year-old Eddy Kamp was brought to the Eckharts as well. The three Eckharts dedicated themselves to making the children's new surroundings as comfortable as possible. Geertruida went for walks with the older children, whereas Karel and Else cared for the younger ones, along with their own newborn baby. In August 1943, the neighborhood where the Eckharts lived, was declared "Sperrgebiet" - a closed war zone -- and the family was again forced to move. Eddy was moved elsewhere, but Harry, Beatrix and Lisette were taken along to the Eckharts' new address. On July 31, 1944, the Eckharts were betrayed by neighbours and a house search, by German and Dutch police, revealed the three children in hiding. They were arrested, along with Geetruida. Else was ill in bed at the time and was left alone, whereas Karel was not at home. The children were taken to the Westerbork transit camp. Geertruida was imprisoned in Arnhem for extensive interrogation. Immediately after the raid, Karel and Else went into hiding, while entrusting their daughter to relatives. Geertruida stayed under arrest until "Crazy Tuesday" (Dolle Dinsdag) on September 5, 1944, when the German occupation regime feared an immediate Allied invasion. Lisette, Harry and Beatrix were deported from Westerbork to Bergen Belsen with the very last train on September 13, 1944 with the "53 Unknown Children". They were then transported to the Theresienstadt ghetto, but survived. After the war, Harry and Beatrix Rothe returned to their parents. The Eckharts went looking for Lisette and discovered that her parents had perished. An uncle had survived, and he took in Lisette. She lost touch with the Eckharts until the late 90s when contact was re-established with the help of a television program in the Netherlands. On December 31, 2003, Yad Vashem recognized Geetruida Christine Eckhart, her son Karel Gerardus Eckhart and his wife, Elisabeth Eckhart-Hald, as Righteous Among the Nations. |
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Gezin 1
| Huwelijkspartner: | Elisabeth Lina Hald | geb. 6 Feb 1916 overl. 2 Nov 2007 |
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