Dalen van Theo & Bets

Dalen van, Theo & Bets In 1943, when the deportation of Jews began, Theo van Dalen, a policeman in Gendt, Gelderland, traveled to Arnhem and invited Jews whom he had never met before to hide in his home. The Jews, however, took this as a provocation and cursed him. Theo, who lived with his wife, Bets (Betsy), their two children aged eight and six, and a 70-year-old grandfather, did intend to hide Jews though. During the course of the war, they hid Yitzhak and Rivka Cohen, their three children, and their German-Jewish foster daughter, Gertrud, as well as several Dutchmen evading forced labor in Germany and downed American pilots. Theo and Bets even hid two German deserters and the weapons of another 13 deserters in their home. The van Dalens’ home was small. Downstairs there was a kitchen, a living room, and a small bedroom for the grandfather. There were a hall, two bedrooms, and a secret place where the two younger Cohen children slept and where weapons and the radio were hidden on the first floor. The whole Cohen family felt safe with Theo and Betsy. They were treated well and paid only a nominal amount towards their upkeep. Theo struck up a feigned friendship with the local Nazi mayor and used it as a cover to do a great deal of illegal work. In October 1944, he refused to execute the German order to round up all able-bodied men in Gendt and send them to Germany. This act of defiance forced Theo to go into hiding. In early 1945, the British bombed his house. He managed to send his wards to various farmers in the region, where they all remained until the liberation. On April 28, 1968, Yad Vashem recognized Theo van Dalen and his wife, Bets van Dalen, as Righteous Among the Nations.