Dirk Boonstra
Encyclopedia
Dirk Boonstra (24 February 1893, Sint Annaparochie
- 9 September 1944, Hersbruck
Germany
) was a police commander for the village of Grijpskerk
in the Netherlands
during World War II
. It was for his actions here in refusing to carry out an order to round up the remaining Dutch Jews in the area with his fellow policemen that he is recognized in 1988 as Righteous Among the Nations
by the Yad Vashem.
Sint Annaparochie
Sint Annaparochie is the principal and largest town of the municipality of Het Bildt in Friesland, the Netherlands. It lies approximately 15 km northwest of Leeuwarden and has approximately four thousand inhabitants. The town is named after Saint Anne, the mother of Mary.St. Annaparochie was...
- 9 September 1944, Hersbruck
Hersbruck
Hersbruck is a small town in Middle Franconia, Bavaria, Germany, belonging to the district Nürnberger Land. Famous for the late-gothic artwork of the Hersbruck altar, the "Hirtenmuseum" and the beautiful landscape of the "Hersbrucker Schweiz".-History:...
Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
) was a police commander for the village of Grijpskerk
Grijpskerk
Grijpskerk is a village in the Dutch province of Groningen. It is located in the municipality of Zuidhorn, about 18 km west of the city of Groningen.Grijpskerk was a separate municipality until 1990, when it was merged with Zuidhorn....
in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. It was for his actions here in refusing to carry out an order to round up the remaining Dutch Jews in the area with his fellow policemen that he is recognized in 1988 as Righteous Among the Nations
Righteous Among the Nations
Righteous among the Nations of the world's nations"), also translated as Righteous Gentiles is an honorific used by the State of Israel to describe non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust to save Jews from extermination by the Nazis....
by the Yad Vashem.