Onderweegs Dirk ; Former Wife: Anne (de Jong)

Onderweegs, Dirk Veen van der, Anne (de Jong) From November 1942 until Christmas 1943, Louis de Groot hid in 13 different places. On January 3, 1944, a member of the underground took 14-year-old Louis to the home of Dirk Onderweegs and his wife Anne (later van der Veen) in Lemmer, Friesland. At that time they had a four-year-old daughter, Bonnetta, and two days later they took in a six-week-old Jewish boy, Robert Wolf, whose mother had given birth while in hiding. Bonnetta accepted the two boys as her brothers and regarded the many adult Jews who came and went as her aunts and uncles. After they had found permanent hiding places for the “aunts” and “uncles,” Dirk and Anne used to invite them to spend occasional weekends with them so that they would have a social life. They also provided them with forged identity papers and ration cards and would sometimes travel across the county to get prescriptions refilled at pharmacies which had served these Jews before. They also established communications with relatives hidden elsewhere. Dirk managed hid full-time job as the Lemsterland town clerk as well as his underground activities. Dirk and Anne’s strength and courage came from their profound religious beliefs. The Onderweegses lived according to the commandments in the Scriptures and helped observant Jews worship in the way they were required. When Louis de Groot’s parents and sister were caught by the Germans, Dirk tracked them down through prisons in The Hague and Amsterdam to Westerbork, where he tried to use black market liquor and tobacco to get them released, but to no avail. In June 1944, an alert long distance operator in Lemmer intercepted a call to Gestapo headquarters in Leeuwarden, the Frisian capital, betraying the Onderweegs. The operator immediately warned Dirk and in less than 15 minutes the entire family had left on their bicycles. Bonnetta and Louis were dropped off at a farm in Echtenerpolder and joined Dirk, Anne, and the baby in Bolsward inAugust. By the end of September 1944, Dirk and Anne had established themselves as Mr. and Mrs. Paul Lemstra, the parents of Louis, Bonnetta, and Robert Lemstra, in a private house in Bolsward. From that time on, the Onderweegses’ involvement in underground activities increased. Their home became the regional underground headquarters and Dirk printed forged identity cards, special passes, and German military certificates. He also monitored radio messages from London, set up zones behind enemy lines where weapons, radio equipment, and agents could be dropped, and took part in the gathering, hiding and distribution of weapons and equipment and the organization of paramilitary units. In early 1945 the family was once more on the run. They split up but stayed in touch. In April 1945, the Onderweegses returned home to Lemmer and were reunited with the 33 Jews they had saved. On January 6, 1992, the State of Israel granted Dirk and Anne Onderweegs Honorary Citizenship. On June 18 1972, Yad Vashem recognized Dirk Onderweegs and his wife, Anne van der Veen-de Jong (formerly Onderweegs), as Righteous Among the Nations.