Wijk van Elisabeth (Voskuyl)

Wijk van, Elisabeth (Voskuyl) In July 1942, Otto Frank, his wife, and their daughters, as well as four other Jews moved into the hideout that Otto had prepared above his office. Elisabeth (Bep) Voskuyl (Elli Vossen in Anne Frank’s diary and later Elisabeth van Wijk-Voskuyl) was one of the five people who took care of them there. Every day for 25 months, Bep visited the hidden Jews, sometimes early in the morning before office hours, and sometimes during the lunch break when the other employees had left the building. Each of the fugitives’ five helpers had their own specific tasks: Miep Gies* and Bep had the extremely difficult job of providing food for the eight hidden people. To avoid arousing suspicion, they had to do the shopping in different neighborhoods so that the bulk of their purchases would not be noticed. On August 4, 1944, the Germans raided the hiding place. Victor Kugler* and Jo Kleiman* (also two of the helpers) managed to persuade the Germans that the two office girls had known nothing about the hidden Jews and thus Bep was not arrested. On March 8, 1972, Yad Vashem recognized Elisabeth van Wijk-Voskuyl as Righteous Among the Nations.