Dijk Simon & Ida ; Daughter: Frauke

Dijk, Simon & Ida & Frauke Simon Dijk and his family were inhabitants of Nieuwlande, Drenthe, a remarkable village where the lives of hundreds of Jews were saved. The Dijks were members of the Dutch Reformed Church and were devoutly religious. Religious piety was a factor that significantly contributed to the solidarity felt in the village of Nieuwlande during the war. The Dijks’ home was always open to fugitives. Simon, a housepainter, and his family were constantly harboring about six Jews there. They also hid members of the Resistance who required shelter. Max Léons (alias Nico), a Jew, was sheltered by the Dijks from the time he first arrived in Nieuwlande. From the spring of 1943, Nico was Arnold Douwes’s* principal assistant, helping out with everything concerning the hiding of Jews. In September 1944, however, Douwes was arrested while actually at the Dijks’ home. As a consequence, the Dijks immediately went into hiding themselves. The Jews who had been safeguarded in their home fled to the woods, where they dug out hiding places. During this dangerous period, Frauke supplied the Jewish fugitives with food. The behavior displayed by another one of the Dijks’ daughters, ten-year-old Corrie, was an excellent example of how the precarious situation during the war matured young children. Throughout the period, Corrie never spoke about what she saw and heard to any outsiders. Thus, in her own way, she also contributed to saving lives. On August 15, 1974, Yad Vashem recognized Simon Dijk, his wife, Ida Dijk, and their daughter, Frauke Dijk, as Righteous Among the Nations.