Hendrikus van Hamersveld

Geslacht: Man
Vader: Joannes van Hamersveld
Moeder: Margaretha Kuier
Geboren: 8 Juli 1906 Hoogland
Overleden: 24 MEI 1985 Espel
Aantekeningen: Last Name: Hamersveld van
First Name: Hendrikus
Date of Birth: 08/07/1906
Date of death: 24/05/1985
Rescuer's fate: survived
Nationality: THE NETHERLANDS
Religion: ROMAN CATHOLIC
Gender: Male
Profession: FARMER
Place during the war: Eemnes, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Rescue Place: Eemnes, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Rescue mode: Hiding
File number: File from the Collection of the Righteous Among the Nations Department (M.31.2/5486)
Hendrikus and Helena van Hamersveld were newly wed when Brigadier Jacobs, the head of police in Blaricum North Holland, asked them to hide the Rijxmans, a family of five. The young couple agreed, and from September 1942 until October 1944, when their home became unsafe, Salomon Rijxman (born 1901), his wife Sientje (b. 1903), and their children, Abraham (b. 1926), Elisabeth (b. 1927), and Dora (b. 1930) hid in their home. The van Hamersvelds lived on the grounds of a tree nursery in Eemnes, Utrecht. They occupied half of a small farmhouse that had been divided into two residences. After awhile, Hendrikus and Helena were forced to move to a house on a private road belonging to a farmer and took the Rijxmans with them. On two occasions, the safety of the families was threatened. In September 1943, the house was burgled but the thieves failed to notice the hideout. The second time, the Dutch police were searching for a clandestine slaughterhouse and found the hiding place. However, they did not betray the Jewish fugitives and even helped them to survive the last six months of the war, including the harsh winter of 1944--1945. The Rijxmans paid their hosts some money towards expenses. Mr. Rijxman’s brother, Leo, a member of the underground, provided forged food coupons and other documents. The van Hamersvelds’ priest and some nuns from the local Roman Catholic community, to which Hendrikus and Helena belonged, created a screen of secrecy around the rescue effort, without which it would have failed. After the war, the Rijxmans successfully located most of their furniture and savings, which had been preserved by non-Jewish friends.
On December 22, 1992, Yad Vashem recognized Hendrikus van Hamersveld and his wife, Helena Maria Cunera van Hamersveld-van der Heul, as Righteous Among the Nations.

Gezin 1

Huwelijkspartner: Helena Gerarda van der Heul geb. 8 Juni 1911 overl. 24 Dec 2000
Huwelijk: 20 MEI 1941 Blaricum
Kinderen:
  Helena van Hamersveld Male geb. 1942 overl. 15 Juli 1942