Willem Hausel

Geslacht: Man
Vader: Willem Hausel
Moeder: Maria Johanna van der Steen
Geboren: 23 MEI 1912 Amsterdam
Beroep: procuratiehouder
Aantekeningen: Last Name: Hausel
First Name: Willem
Date of Birth: 23/05/1912
Date of death: 01/03/1983
Rescuer's fate: survived
Nationality: THE NETHERLANDS
Gender: Male
Profession: BOOKEEPER
Place during the war: Amsterdam, Noordholland, The Netherlands
Rescue Place: Amsterdam, Noordholland, The Netherlands
Rescue mode: Hiding
File number: File from the Collection of the Righteous Among the Nations Department (M.31.2/2114)
In July 1943 the Spitzes---Isaac, Rebecca, and their five-year-old daughter, Rachel---escaped a razzia in Amsterdam. After spending several days wandering around town, including a stay of a few days with a friend they knew from university and then with some non-Jewish relatives on the Veluwe, they returned to Amsterdam to relatives who had contacts in the underground. Through them, young Rachel was taken to Almelo, to the van Dooren* family. Isaac was taken to the home of Eliken Bakker, a gardener in Amsterdam, which he shared with his friend Willem Hausel, an accountant. Isaac was only supposed to stay there for a few days but in fact remained for 20 months, during which time he did not leave the apartment, which was on the fourth floor in a central district of Amsterdam. Rebecca found a place in Limburg as a maid. In winter 1944, Cor Bakker, Eliken’s sister, went to get Isaac’s wife, Rebecca, from her hideout and brought her to visit her husband. Nine months later, when a baby boy, Ruben, was born to Rebecca, Eliken and Willem welcomed mother and son permanently into the haven of their home. Eliken picked up the mother and child, bringing a borrowed stroller. While appearing to walk home “innocently,” they were in fact in grave danger because they were in a neighborhood where everyone knew him. When they got home, Eliken and Willem gave up their bedroom for the Spitz family and slept in the salon on the floor. During the winter months, the inhabitants of the house shared the little food that the two men managed to procure riding around the countryside on a bicycle with no tires.
On July 15, 1981, Yad Vashem recognized Eliken Bakker and Willem Hausel as Righteous Among the Nations.