Kamphuis Jan ; Daughter: Klaziena

Kamphuis, Jan Willem Kamphuis, Klaziena Henny Dünner was born in 1918, in Rogasen (during the war, Germany, later Poland). In Holland she met the man who later became her husband—Manfred Kurt Loewenstein, born in 1917—who was also German. The circumstances for this young couple were not very good: the Nazi Germans had invaded large parts of Europe, and the couple’s Jewish origin made them prey for the countless Jew hunters, who cooperated with the Nazis in their attempt to destroy all of European Jewry. Henny had been arrested and brought to the “Crèche,” opposite the “Hollandsche Schouwburg” in Amsterdam, where all the arrested Jews in the Netherlands were imprisoned; from there they were later transported to Westerbork, a transit camp in the province of Drenthe. From Westerbork they were sent to the notorious camps in Germany and Poland, where most of them were murdered. The children and babies of arrested Jews were held in the Crèche in Amsterdam until they could be sent to Westerbork as well. The Crèche was a daycare center, from where the Dutch resistance managed to save many children by taking them out secretly and transferring them to hiding places all over the country. Henny Dünner managed to flee the Crèche. She received a fake identification card, and a Protestant reverend found her a hiding place with Jan Willem Kamphuis (b. 1882) and his daughter, Klaziena (b. 1911), who were living on a cow farm in Driebergen-Rijsenburg. They were Protestants who were motivated by their faith to save a Jewish family from death. Henny stayed with them from June 1943 until February 1944, and the Protestant reverend organized food coupons for her. During Henny’s stay at the Kamphuis farm, Manfred Kurt Loewenstein joined her in hiding. Henny and Manfred got along very well, and they were even married during their hiding time. Henny and Manfred were very well cared for by Jan Willem and Klaziena. However, in February 1944 the danger increased. A Nazi-sympathizing neighbor suddenly showed too much interest in Henny and Manfred’s presence on the Kamphuis farm. Quickly, they were transferred to a new hiding place, where their firstborn son, James, was born on April 21, 1945, just before the liberation. Thanks to the courage and care of Jan Willem Kamphuis, his daughter, Klaziena, and many others, Henny and Manfred Loewenstein survived the war and even came out of the war with a baby son. Over the years, warm contact remained between them and the Kamphuis family, many of whom immigrated to Canada in 1952. After Henny and Manfred passed away, contact was lost, but many years later contact was restored between their son James and the rescuers’ grandchild Anthonie. On October 19, 2015, Yad Vashem recognized Jan Willem Kamphuis and his daughter Klaziena as Righteous Among the Nations.