Voort van de Johanna

Voort van de, Johanna C. M. Midwife Johanna (Hanna) van de Voort organized a network of safe houses which sheltered at least 123 Jews, mostly children, during the war. Her involvement began in May 1943 when Piet Meerburg* of the ASG* asked two student activists hiding in Venlo, Limburg, to find safe houses for some Jewish children. His request was passed on to the LO district in Sevenum, Limburg, via Eugénie Boutet*, who asked her cousin, Johanna van der Voort to take the job upon herself. Hanna was well known in the area since she was present at practically every birth. She lived with her parents in Tienray, Limburg, a small Catholic pilgrimage center. Although her mother, Marie van de Voort, was very ill, she still encouraged her daughter to comply with Meerburg’s request. Taking care of so many people called for an enormous effort by Hanna and Nico Dohmen*, with whom she worked. They did not wish to be helped by the LO for various reasons so when they were joined in late 1943 by Kurt Löwenstein (alias Uncle Ben), a young Jew from Germany, they were both relieved and overjoyed. Until Tienray was liberated, this group of three provided the Jewish refugees with food and clothing. Hanna’s main job was to find new addresses. Meerburg’s couriers would escort the fugitives to nearby Venray by train. The children would then stay at Hanna’s house to acclimatize and learn Catholic customs and traditions. They would also be provided with false identity cards and an evacuation certificate. After the children had adapted to their new surroundings, they would be taken to a foster family. In addition, during the war, Hanna, Nico, and Kurt helped some adults go into hiding, including Viries Cohen, the last principal of the Jewish crèche in Amsterdam. Until the summer of 1944, the operation ran smoothly. The Allies had landed in Normandy and were rapidly advancing north. On the night of July 30, 1944, the Sipo raided the van de Voort house. Hanna was arrested andinterrogated at the Sipo office in Eindhoven. Hearing of Hanna’s arrest, Meerburg, who was in Amsterdam, sent the beautiful Mieke Mees (later Louwers*), to try to obtain Hanna’s release. She managed to arouse the interest of the Sipo commander and made a date to go out with him on condition that he release “that silly woman from Tienray.” The commander agreed and set Hanna free. Mieke made a fast getaway. The Allied advance got bogged down, placing Tiernay and other villages in the Maas district in the front line. The next six weeks were pure hell. On November 21, 1944, Tienray was liberated. That same day, Hanna was appointed commanding officer of the NBS (Internal Armed Forces). A few days later, she gave the job to Nico. Hanna was exhausted and shortly after the end of the war she began to suffer from heart disease. She died in 1956, at the age of 52. On March 29, 1984, Yad Vashem recognized Johanna van de Voort as Righteous Among the Nations.