Johan Hendrik Weidner
Encyclopedia
Johan Hendrik Weidner (October 22, 1912, Brussels, Belgium - May 21, 1994, Monterey Park, California
, United States
) was a highly decorated hero of World War II
.
parents, grew up in Collonges
, France
in the Ain
département near the Swiss
border where his father served as the minister of the Seventh-day Adventist Church
. Following his education at French public schools, he studied at the Seventh-day Adventist Seminary in Collonges, and then pursued a degree in law and in business at the University of Geneva
and at the Sorbonne
in Paris, France.
occupation of France he went south to the city of Lyon
where he helped organize the "Dutch-Paris" underground network to aid anyone who needed to escape from the Nazis. In Paris, his sister Gabrielle Weidner
and other volunteers helped coordinate escapes. As one of the significant contributors to French Resistance
, Weidner's escape network would be responsible for the rescue of at least 1,000 persons, including 800 Jews and more than 100 downed Allied airmen.
but revealed nothing and was eventually released. However, another member of his group was taken by the Gestapo and under torture revealed the names of many key members of the Underground including Weidner's sister. As a result, a large number of the groups members were arrested. Gabrielle Weidner was detained by the Gestapo in Paris because it was hoped that Weidner would try to free her. When this trap didn't work, she was shipped to Ravensbrück concentration camp
in Germany
where she suffered horribly and died of malnutrition.
Johan Weidner was arrested by the Germans a second time and was placed on a train with other prisoners for shipping to a concentration camp to be used as slave labor. However, during the trip, he jumped off the train and made his way to the safety of neutral Switzerland
. From there he escaped to England and was part of the Dutch army formed in Britain and fought with that unit during the final months of the war. After the war, he served in the Dutch diplomatic service. In 1955 he emigrated to the United States
, eventually settling in California where he operated a chain of health food stores.
, the Dutch Order of Orange-Nassau
and the Dutch Medal of Resistance. The French Government honored him with the Croix de Guerre
and Médaille de la Résistance
and the Légion d'honneur
. The Belgian Government made him an Officer of the Order of Leopold.
At the 1993 opening of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
in Washington, D.C.
he was one of seven persons chosen to light candles recognizing the rescuers. The government of Israel
honored Weidner as part of the gentile
s designated as Righteous Among the Nations
at Israel's national Holocaust Memorial, Yad Vashem
where a grove of trees was planted in his name on the Hill of Remembrance along the Avenue of the Righteous. Also in 1993, the Atlantic Union College
in South Lancaster, Massachusetts
, established "The John Henry Weidner Center" for the Cultivation of the Altruistic Spirit.
Monterey Park, California
Monterey Park is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, east of downtown Los Angeles. The city's motto is "Pride in the past, Faith in the future"...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
) was a highly decorated hero of 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...
.
Early life
Johan Weidner, born to DutchNetherlands
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...
parents, grew up in Collonges
Collonges
-France:Collonges is the name or part of the name of several communes in France:* Collonges, in the Ain département* Collonges-au-Mont-d'Or, in the Rhône département* Collonges-la-Rouge, in the Corrèze département...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in the Ain
Ain
Ain is a department named after the Ain River on the eastern edge of France. Being part of the region Rhône-Alpes and bordered by the rivers Saône and Rhône, the department of Ain enjoys a privileged geographic situation...
département near the Swiss
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
border where his father served as the minister of the Seventh-day Adventist Church
Seventh-day Adventist Church
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Protestant Christian denomination distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the original seventh day of the Judeo-Christian week, as the Sabbath, and by its emphasis on the imminent second coming of Jesus Christ...
. Following his education at French public schools, he studied at the Seventh-day Adventist Seminary in Collonges, and then pursued a degree in law and in business at the University of Geneva
University of Geneva
The University of Geneva is a public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland.It was founded in 1559 by John Calvin, as a theological seminary and law school. It remained focused on theology until the 17th century, when it became a center for Enlightenment scholarship. In 1873, it...
and at the Sorbonne
University of Paris
The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...
in Paris, France.
Activities during WWII
In 1935, he established a textile import/export business in Paris, where he was living at the outbreak of World War II. With the subsequent GermanGermany
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...
occupation of France he went south to the city of Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
where he helped organize the "Dutch-Paris" underground network to aid anyone who needed to escape from the Nazis. In Paris, his sister Gabrielle Weidner
Gabrielle Weidner
Gabrielle Weidner was an important French resistance member in World War II....
and other volunteers helped coordinate escapes. As one of the significant contributors to French Resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
, Weidner's escape network would be responsible for the rescue of at least 1,000 persons, including 800 Jews and more than 100 downed Allied airmen.
Arrests
In early 1943 he was arrested and brutally interrogated by the GestapoGestapo
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...
but revealed nothing and was eventually released. However, another member of his group was taken by the Gestapo and under torture revealed the names of many key members of the Underground including Weidner's sister. As a result, a large number of the groups members were arrested. Gabrielle Weidner was detained by the Gestapo in Paris because it was hoped that Weidner would try to free her. When this trap didn't work, she was shipped to Ravensbrück concentration camp
Ravensbrück concentration camp
Ravensbrück was a notorious women's concentration camp during World War II, located in northern Germany, 90 km north of Berlin at a site near the village of Ravensbrück ....
in 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...
where she suffered horribly and died of malnutrition.
Johan Weidner was arrested by the Germans a second time and was placed on a train with other prisoners for shipping to a concentration camp to be used as slave labor. However, during the trip, he jumped off the train and made his way to the safety of neutral Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. From there he escaped to England and was part of the Dutch army formed in Britain and fought with that unit during the final months of the war. After the war, he served in the Dutch diplomatic service. In 1955 he emigrated to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, eventually settling in California where he operated a chain of health food stores.
Recognition
For his War efforts, Johan Weidner was awarded the United States Medal of Freedom, made a Member of the Order of the British EmpireOrder of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, the Dutch Order of Orange-Nassau
Order of Orange-Nassau
The Order of Orange-Nassau is a military and civil order of the Netherlands which was created on 4 April 1892 by the Queen regent Emma of the Netherlands, acting on behalf of her under-age daughter Queen Wilhelmina. The Order is a chivalry order open to "everyone who have earned special merits for...
and the Dutch Medal of Resistance. The French Government honored him with the Croix de Guerre
Croix de guerre
The Croix de guerre is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was awarded during World War I, again in World War II, and in other conflicts...
and Médaille de la Résistance
Médaille de la Résistance
The French Médaille de la Résistance was awarded by General Charles de Gaulle "to recognise the remarkable acts of faith and of courage that, in France, in the empire and abroad, have contributed to the resistance of the French people against the enemy and against its accomplices since June 18,...
and the Légion d'honneur
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
. The Belgian Government made him an Officer of the Order of Leopold.
At the 1993 opening of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is the United States' official memorial to the Holocaust. Adjacent to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the USHMM provides for the documentation, study, and interpretation of Holocaust history...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
he was one of seven persons chosen to light candles recognizing the rescuers. The government of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
honored Weidner as part of the gentile
Gentile
The term Gentile refers to non-Israelite peoples or nations in English translations of the Bible....
s designated 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....
at Israel's national Holocaust Memorial, 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....
where a grove of trees was planted in his name on the Hill of Remembrance along the Avenue of the Righteous. Also in 1993, the Atlantic Union College
Atlantic Union College
Atlantic Union College was a Seventh-day Adventist college in South Lancaster, Massachusetts. Its final year operating as an independent institution was the 2010-2011 school year following loss of accreditation from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges...
in South Lancaster, Massachusetts
South Lancaster, Massachusetts
South Lancaster is a census-designated place in the town of Lancaster in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 1,894 at the 2010 census.-Geography:South Lancaster is located at ....
, established "The John Henry Weidner Center" for the Cultivation of the Altruistic Spirit.
See also
- Seventh-day Adventist ChurchSeventh-day Adventist ChurchThe Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Protestant Christian denomination distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the original seventh day of the Judeo-Christian week, as the Sabbath, and by its emphasis on the imminent second coming of Jesus Christ...
- "Flee the Captor" by Herbert Ford @ http://www.amazon.com/Flee-Captor-Herbert-Ford/dp/0812702190
- "Running from Death" by Wilona Karimabadi @ http://www.spectrummagazine.org/node/760
- US Holocaust Memorial Encyclopedia @ http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/idcard.php?ModuleId=10006669
- Gabrielle Weidner @ http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/media_oi.php?lang=en&ModuleId=10006669&MediaId=1817