Koops Lucas & Aleida (Drent)

Koops, Lucas & Aleida (Drent) Mirjam Berger was born in Germany in 1928 and in 1933 fled with her parents and elder brother to the Netherlands. When the situation of the Jews in Holland began to deteriorate, Mirjam’s parents decided that the family must go into hiding. Mirjam was sent to the home of Lucas and Aleida Koops in Zaandam, North Holland. Lucas and Aleida had four young children and Mirjam was ostensibly employed as a mother’s helper. Lucas obtained a false identity card and ration coupons for Mirjam and thus they risked their lives to save this Jewish girl. To be on the safe side, however, Mirjam stayed indoors all the time. Lucas and Aleida nevertheless managed to make Mirjam feel very welcome in their home and came to love her as one of their children. Mirjam stayed with the Koopses until the end of the war. Her brother Manfred was hidden with a brother and sister-in-law of the Koopses and the whole Berger family survived the war. The Bergers and the Koopses remained friendly even after the war, even after the Koopses emigrated to Canada. Lucas and Aleida visited Mirjam and her family later in Israel, as did the Koopses’ children and grandchildren later on. Throughout the war, Lucas was active in the Resistance, helping acquire false documents for other fugitives besides Mirjam. He was often away from home trying to get food from distant farms. During the war, two other Jews also found refuge in the Koopses’ home for a brief period of time. On March 7, 1999, Yad Vashem recognized Lucas Koops and his wife, Aleida Koops-Drent, as Righteous Among the Nations.