Hendrik Heidel

Geslacht:	Man
Vader:	Hendrikus Johannes Heidel
Moeder:	Dettje Steenstra
Geboren:	19 Apr 1909	Leeuwarden
Beroep:		bankwerker
Aantekeningen:	Last Name: Heidel First Name: Hendrik Alias: HENK Date of Birth: 19/04/1909 Rescuer's fate: survived Nationality: THE NETHERLANDS Gender: Male Place during the war: Zaandijk, Noordholland, The Netherlands Rescue Place: Zaandijk, Noordholland, The Netherlands Rescue mode: Hiding File number: File from the Collection of the Righteous Among the Nations Department (M.31.2/8730) When the roundups of Jews intensified in 1942, Jacob and Sarah Blits of Amsterdam decided to go into hiding. They turned to the Resistance, which found them a place in Zaandijk, North Holland. Together with another Jewish woman, Mrs. Polak, the Blits were taken to the home of Henrik (Henk) and Saakje Heidel, who lived with their four young daughters, aged two to 12. The Heidels lived in a small two-story house with one toilet on the ground floor and no bath. Upstairs there were three small bedrooms, two of which were given to the fugitives. After a few months, Jacob and Sara Blits's four-year-old granddaughter, Sonja, was brought to the Heidel household, as she had been unhappy in her previous refuge. Sonja and her grandparents stayed with the Heidels until the end of the war. In 1943, Sonja's parents, Louis and Eva Blits, were also welcomed into the already crowded Heidel home, where they stayed for about a year. In June 1944, Louis's brother, David, arrived from another hiding place and Mrs. Polak left. The illegal guests were given new names so that no one would accidentally reveal their Jewish names. The four young Heidel daughters kept quiet about what was going on in their home. After 1943, the Resistance provided food and all the members of the family managed to survive the war. When the Germans began conscripting Dutch men for forced labor, Henk himself had to go into hiding. Saakje was left to deal with the household alone, which she managed with grace and intelligence. On November 11, 1999, Yad Vashem recognized Hendrik Heidel and his wife, Saakje Heidel-de Jong, as Righteous Among the Nations.

Gezin 1

Huwelijkspartner:	Saakje de Jong	geb. 13 Jan 1912
Huwelijk:	3 MEI 1930	Leeuwarden