Gerardus van den Helder

Geslacht:	Man
Vader:	Dirk van den Helder
Moeder:	Johanna van der Voorn
Geboren:	3 MRT 1890	Nieuwkoop
Beroep:		smid
Aantekeningen:	Last Name: Helder van den First Name: Gerardus Alias: GERT Date of Birth: 03/03/1890 Date of death: 25/11/1985 Rescuer's fate: survived Nationality: THE NETHERLANDS Religion: ROMAN CATHOLIC Gender: Male Profession: LOCKSMITH Place during the war: Noorden, Zuidholland, The Netherlands Rescue Place: Noorden, Zuidholland, The Netherlands Rescue mode: Hiding File number: File from the Collection of the Righteous Among the Nations Department (M.31.2/1418) Jeanette (Nettie) Gobes was born in Amsterdam in 1937 and in 1942 she, her parents, and her mother’s sister went into hiding with the Bogaard* family in Nieuw Vennep, North Holland. The Huiskens, who lived near the Bogaards’ farm, were active in the Resistance and were hiding Frederikus (Freek) van den Helder, a young man from Noorden, South Holland, who had gone underground in order to evade forced labor in Germany. In July 1943, the Germans raided the Bogaard farm and arrested Nettie’s parents and aunt together with a dozen or so other people in hiding, none of whom were seen again. Nettie’s life was saved because she was playing at a neighbor’s house with some of the other Jewish children at the time. She now needed a new hiding place and, at Freek’s suggestion, Mr. Huiskens, known in the resistance as “Oom Anton,” took her to Gerardus (Gert) and Antonia (To) van den Helder, Freek’s parents, in the small village of Noorden. The van den Helders were Catholics who lived on the meager income Gert earned in his locksmith’s shop. The couple had staunch anti-Nazi convictions and the six of their sons who were old enough to be conscripted into the German labor force were in hiding. Nettie arrived there on July 14, 1943, and was warmly welcomed. Gert and To had 11 children in all and felt it was their duty to save anyone who was persecuted by the Nazis, especially a child. Nettie’s identity had to be carefully camouflaged. She was given the surname Verzorger and her story was that she was an orphan from Rotterdam. Her hair was bleached and she was told never to talk to strangers or tell anyone her real name or where she was from. She did as she was told when two SS officers appeared in her room one day while she was playing with her doll. Although she understood them when they asked her in German where her father and brothers were and what her name was, she played dumb. To van den Helder had been watching from the window and when the officers left, she and Nettie cried with relief. Another close call came when there was a raid on a particularly stormy day. To wrapped Nettie in a blanket and, together with some of her sons, went out in a boat on the nearby lake, evading the Germans. Nettie stayed with the van den Helders until the spring of 1947. She had become like a daughter to them, but she had to be returned to the Jewish orphanage, the Bergstichting, under whose auspices she moved to Israel in 1952. She kept in close touch with her foster family thereafter. On June 28, 1978, Yad Vashem recognized Gerardus van den Helder, his wife, Antonia van den Helder-Koperdraad, and their sons Theodurus Johannes van den Helder, Frederikus Theodorus van den Helder, Henricus Joannes van den Helder, Johannes Theodorus van den Helder, Lucas Theodorus van den Helder, and Nicolaas Cornelis van den Helder as Righteous Among the Nations.

Gezin 1

Huwelijkspartner:	Antonia Koperdraad	geb. 16 Dec 1889
Huwelijk:	29 Aug 1919	Nieuwkoop
Kinderen:
	Antonia Cornelia Barbara van den Helder	geb. 1931 overl. 23 Nov 1946