Wilhelmina Margrietha Kelder
| Geslacht: | Vrouw | |
| Vader: | Gerrit Kelder | |
| Moeder: | Johanna Margrietha Koopmans | |
| Geboren: | 22 Sept 1910 | 's-Heerenberg |
| Aantekeningen: | Last Name: Hilten van First Name: Wilhelmina Margrietha Maiden Name: Kelder Date of Birth: 22/09/1910 Rescuer's fate: survived Nationality: THE NETHERLANDS Gender: Female Place during the war: Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands Rescue Place: Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands Rescue mode: Hiding ; Arranging shelter ; Supplying basic goods File number: File from the Collection of the Righteous Among the Nations Department (M.31.2/1315) Jan van Hilten and his wife, Wilhelmina, were acutely aware of the dangers facing Jews and offered to hide their friends, the Meijers, in their home in the city of Utrecht. The Meijers did not believe that their situation was desperate and turned down the offer. In the meantime, the van Hiltens took in a young Jewish couple, Robert and Annie Daniel-Heertjes, who stayed with them from September 1942 until the end of the war. In 1943, the Meijers agreed to let Jan find a hiding place for their two young daughters. Under the cover of darkness, Wilhelmina took the girls on her bicycle to safe addresses. Six-year-old Lya Meijers (later Frank) was brought to the home of Dr. Hugo Broers* and his wife, Kathy, in Amersfoort, Utrecht, and four-year-old Elleke (later Elly Rubin) was taken to the Griffioen* family in Baambrugge, Utrecht. When the Meijers finally decided to go into hiding themselves, Jan and Wilhelmina found them shelter in Brummen, Gelderland, where the girls' grandmother, uncles, and aunts joined them. The van Hiltens provided food coupons and money for all these refugees. The family was later betrayed and, apart from the two young girls, all of them were taken to extermination camps, where they perished. Only Lya and Elleke remained undetected in their hiding places until the end of the war. During the war, several other Jews found temporary shelter in the van Hilten home. These included members of Annie Daniel-Heertjes's family: her sister Julia, husband Max van Saxen, her other sister, Tirtsa, and her parents, Chief Rabbi Salomon Heertjes and his wife, Martha Heertjes-Meyer. Jan accompanied the rabbi and his wife on the train from their home in Den Bosch to Utrecht. This was very risky because the couple was traveling with identity papers identifying them as Jews. Over and above this, every week, Jan and Wilhelmina sent a parcel to Robert Daniel's 84-year-old mother in Westerbork. They also gave temporary refuge to Daniel van den Bergh, whom Jan rescued minutes before he was deported. On April 16, 1978, Yad Vashem recognized Jan van Hilten and his wife, Wilhelmina Margrietha van Hilten-Kelder, as Righteous Among the Nations. |
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Gezin 1
| Huwelijkspartner: | Jan van Hilten | geb. 2 Juni 1906 |
| Huwelijk: | 25 Juni 1936 | De Bilt |