Aiske Bilstra
| Geslacht: | Vrouw | |
| Vader: | Wytze Bilstra | |
| Moeder: | Dieuwke Dijkstra | |
| Geboren: | 27 Feb 1919 | Leeuwarderadeel |
| Overleden: | 2 Sept 2004 | Enschede |
| Aantekeningen: | Last Name: Hilbrink First Name: Aiske Maiden Name: Bilstra Alias: AIS Date of Birth: 27/02/1919 Rescuer's fate: survived Nationality: THE NETHERLANDS Gender: Female Place during the war: Hertme, Overijssel, The Netherlands Rescue Place: Hertme, Overijssel, The Netherlands Rescue mode: Hiding File number: File from the Collection of the Righteous Among the Nations Department (M.31.2/3065) In 1940, at the age of 22, Hans N. Andriesse began his career as a technical draftsman in Hengelo, Overijssel. One of his colleagues, Albert Hilbrink, had just married Aiske (Ais) Bilstra and moved to the nearby village of Hertme to start a family. Soon after moving Albert and Ais offered Hans a place to hide in their home. At first, hiding did not appear to be necessary, but when Hans received a call-up for a labor camp in Holland he decided to take the Hilbrinks up on their offer. Albert and Ais were motivated to help Hans, and other Jews who came their way, on purely humanitarian grounds. They gave a few daysÂ’ shelter, for example, to an Amsterdam couple who had jumped off the train taking them to Westerbork. Hans was hidden in a tiny room where he had to stay completely concealed from view during the day, while at night he slept on a hollowed-out couch in the living room, ready to disappear at a momentÂ’s notice if there were a house search. Due to both the cramped conditions and the German threat to deport his parents if he did not report to the labor camp, Hans left Albert and Ais on August 31, 1942, and reported to the camp. From here he was deported to Westerbork and then, on October 2, 1942, to Poland, where he survived the camps. After Hans left, Albert and Ais took in another Jewish fugitive, Jacques Hijmans, for a few months. Jacques was found in a surprise raid on the house and deported to the east, where he perished. During the house search, the Hilbrinks were held at gunpoint in their kitchen, but this did not deter them from continuing their Resistance activities, which included finding hiding places for Jews in the area and acting as couriers. They took particularly good care of Harry Meyers, who was hiding in the vicinity and whom they befriended. On December 25, 1984, Yad Vashem recognized Albert Hilbrink and his wife, Aiske Hilbrink-Bilstra, as Righteous Among the Nations. |
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Gezin 1
| Huwelijkspartner: | Albert Hilbrink | geb. 1916 |
| Huwelijk: | 1941 | Hengelo |