Berendina Roelofina Hendrika Eman
| Geslacht: | Vrouw | |
| Vader: | Gerrit Eman | |
| Moeder: | Johanna Maria Brouwer | |
| Geboren: | 30 Apr 1920 | Den Haag |
| Overleden: | 2019 | |
| Religie: | Ger. Kerk | |
| Aantekeningen: | Last Name: Eman First Name: Berendina Roelofina Hendrika Alias: DIET Rescuer's fate: survived imprisoned Nationality: THE NETHERLANDS Religion: CHRISTIAN Gender: Female Profession: STUDENT Place during the war: The Hague, Zuidholland, The Netherlands; Vught, Camp, The Netherlands Rescue Place: The Hague, Zuidholland, The Netherlands Rescue mode: Arranging shelter Other File number: File from the Collection of the Righteous Among the Nations Department (M.31.2/8159) Berendina (Diet) Eman, the third child born into a family of four children, studied languages and business. When Diet and her fiancé, Hein Sietsma*, realized what was happening to the Jews, they decided that they had to put their beliefs into action. Together with 14 friends, including Albert (Ab) and Hendrika (Riet) van Meerveld* and Aalt and Alie Lozeman*, they founded the Hein group, named after Hein Sietsma and also an acronym of the words Helpt Elkander In Nood (Help Each other In Need). Initially, the group was involved in disseminating the BBC news that they transcribed in shorthand and arranging hiding places for Jewish fugitives. As priests and pastors were exempt from forced labor, all the male members of the Hein group posed as clergymen. Before long, the Hein group was in charge of 60 Jews, among them Aronda and Sarina Niekerk and their parents, Hans and Ellie van Esso; the Koppel family; the Hartsuiker family; Rabbi Tal and his wife; Albert van Gelder; and the Nihom family. Moreover, the group also took care of a large number of young non-Jewish men who were evading forced labor in Germany. At the end of 1942, members of another resistance group asked Diet Eman to go to The Hague to help out in a desperate situation. A certain Mies Walbelm, who lived in a very small apartment, was sheltering 27 Jews and needed assistance. Diet traveled there and subsequently found new hiding places for many of them. By the time she had found new hiding addresses for all but eight of Mies wards, Mies had taken in another seven. Despite the danger, Diet visited Mies at least five times a week thereafter and each time she arrived, something unexpected had happened. When the Germans arrested Mies, they found 22 Jews hidden in her home as well as a diary that mentioned Diet, under the alias Toos. In May 1943, the Germans discovered the true identity of Toos and went to Diets parents home to arrest her. Fortunately, Diets brother had warned her beforehand and she never returned home for the duration of the war. After Hein was arrested, Diet was given false papers, but apparently something was wrong with them and the Germans arrested her on a train while she was carrying an envelope containing illegal documents under her clothes. She managed to dispose of the envelope while surrounded by six Germans. Diet was imprisoned in Vught, where she remained for a couple of months. The Germans released her at the end of August 1944 and she immediately resumed her illegal work. When the Germans confiscated five of her familys rusty old bicycles, she continued her work on foot. When a resistance group affiliated to the Dutch Government asked her to report on German troop movements and fortifications, she did her espionage work on foot too. In the end, eight of the original 16 members of Hein group died in prison, by execution, or in concentration camps. Hein was killed in Dachau and it took Diet many years to be able to speak about her wartime experiences. On August 23, 1998, Yad Vashem recognized Berendina Roelofina Hendrika Eman as Righteous Among the Nations. |
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Gezin 1
| Huwelijkspartner: | NN Erlich | |
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