Aaltje Oostenbrink

Geslacht: Vrouw
Vader: Willem Oostenbrink
Moeder: Hermina Harwig
Geboren: 13 Feb 1910 Avereest
Overleden: 20 Juni 2000 Apeldoorn
Aantekeningen: Last Name: Haeringen van
First Name: Ali
Maiden Name: Surname unknown
Rescuer's fate: survived
Nationality: THE NETHERLANDS
Religion: PROTESTANT
Gender: Female
Place during the war: Hattem, Gelderland, The Netherlands
Rescue Place: Hattem, Gelderland, The Netherlands
Rescue mode: Hiding
File number: File from the Collection of the Righteous Among the Nations Department (M.31.2/674)
In the middle of 1942, six-year-old Joseph Obstfeld was living with his parents in Amsterdam. When their house was searched, the family managed to escape and find hiding places with the assistance of the underground. Joseph was taken to various addresses in Amsterdam, before being taken to Zwolle, Overijssel. From there, the underground safely transferred him to the home of Piet and Ali van Haeringen in nearby Hattem, Gelderland. Dr. van Haeringen was the town's physician and he and his wife were childless. They welcomed the boy warmly into their home, loved him, protected him, and, although they were practicing Protestants, tried to give him as much of a Jewish education as possible. In the three years he spent in their home, Joseph was not permitted to leave the confines of the house and so his "aunt" and "uncle" tutored him. Piet's clinic was in his home. One day, a patient informed the German police that he had seen a child in the house, and trouble began. The Germans surrounded the house and Ali pushed Joseph upstairs and hid him behind some medicine cartons. The Germans searched the house but did not find anything. Nevertheless, that night, Ali took Joseph to the underground in Zwolle for safekeeping, while the Gestapo again searched her house and noted the suspicious absence of Ali. After the search, the Gestapo kept watch on the house, waiting for Ali to return. When she did, she brushed them off with a story, knowing that Joseph would be safe. After a week, the suspicions subsided and Joseph returned secretly to the van Haeringens, where he remained until the end of the war. Even after his parents returned, one from Theresienstadt and the other from hiding, Joseph stayed in close touch with Piet and Ali.
On March 23, 1971, Yad Vashem recognized Piet van Haeringen and his wife, Ali van Haeringen, as Righteous Among the Nations.

Gezin 1

Huwelijkspartner: Pieter van Haeringen geb. 21 Dec 1908 overl. 18 Juli 2002
Huwelijk: 25 MEI 1937 Avereest