Johan Benders
Encyclopedia
Johan Benders was a Dutch
teacher at the Amsterdam Lyceum, who encouraged his students to manufacture false identification papers and food ration cards for Jews
in order to help them escape persecution by the occupying Nazi Germany
. His wife, Gerritdina Letteboer, and he sheltered Jews in their home. In 1943, however, they were betrayed by a neighbor and Johan was arrested by Gestapo
. In prison, he was tortured. Johan Benders had tried to commit suicide but failed twice. On April 6, he jumped from the third floor of the prison he was held in, to avoid giving information under torture. Johan and Gerritdina took in Rosalie and Katie Wijnberg, Lore Polak, another Jewish girl and Jan Doedens.
On March 27, 1997, Yad Vashem
recognized Johan Benders and Gerritdina Letteboer as Righteous Among the Nations
.
In Amsterdam, there is a street named after him.
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...
teacher at the Amsterdam Lyceum, who encouraged his students to manufacture false identification papers and food ration cards for Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
in order to help them escape persecution by the occupying Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
. His wife, Gerritdina Letteboer, and he sheltered Jews in their home. In 1943, however, they were betrayed by a neighbor and Johan was arrested by Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
. In prison, he was tortured. Johan Benders had tried to commit suicide but failed twice. On April 6, he jumped from the third floor of the prison he was held in, to avoid giving information under torture. Johan and Gerritdina took in Rosalie and Katie Wijnberg, Lore Polak, another Jewish girl and Jan Doedens.
On March 27, 1997, Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem is Israel's official memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, established in 1953 through the Yad Vashem Law passed by the Knesset, Israel's parliament....
recognized Johan Benders and Gerritdina Letteboer 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....
.
In Amsterdam, there is a street named after him.
Further reading
- Glossary of Names and Commonly Used Terms from the Holocaust Memorial Center. Retrieved January 30, 2008.
- The Righteous Among the Nations: The Netherlands from Yad Vashem. Retrieved January 30, 2008.