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Driebergen Willem & Adolphina (Meiden van der)

Righteous
Driebergen, Willem & Adolphina Alwina Johanna (van der Meiden) Simone Marcelle Rulf was dismissed from her job in the Dutch Interior Ministry on November 28, 1940, because she was Jewish. From August 1942 on, she hid in various places with the help of her friends, Willem and Alwina Driebergen, who lived in Amersfoort, Utrecht. Their friendship grew stronger after she arrived at their home in early 1943, having traveled there on the train with forged papers. At around the same time, her parents, Raphael and Emilie Rulf, were forced to leave their hiding place with the Noorda’s* in Rijswijk, South Holland, the town where they lived, because their son and daughter-in-law had been arrested and their hideaway was made unsafe. The Driebergens agreed to take them in too. Simone testified to a list of 15 families comprising over 40 people who survived the war thanks to the activities of the Driebergens. She also noted that the Manassen family from Amersfoort, who were good friends of the Driebergens, were the first people the Driebergens helped. They then took in people whom they did not know, including Marianna Scholss, who stayed at their home for two and a half years. A friend who was an engineer built an ingenious hiding place in their roof that was never found during any of the Germans’ searches of the property. Those hiding with the Driebergens never left the house during their stay, even though they had good forged documents. Throughout the two years that the Rulfs stayed with the Driebergens, they made toys that were sold through Alwina by merchants. Merchants from Friesland supplied the raw materials, which were already scarce in wartime. An underground group sprang up around the Driebergen family, including their daughter and her husband, who was later caught and shot by the Germans. The members of the group took care of food and firewood. Alwina herself took care of ration cards. On April 28 1968, Yad Vashem recognized Willem Driebergen and his wife,Adolphina Alwina Johanna Driebergen-van der Meiden, as Righteous Among the Nations.
Last Name
Driebergen
First Name
Adolphina
Alwina
Johanna
Maiden Name
Meiden van der
Date of Birth
13/06/1898
Fate
survived
Nationality
THE NETHERLANDS
Gender
Female
Item ID
4040371
Recognition Date
28/04/1968
Ceremony Place
The Hague, Netherlands
Commemoration
Wall of Honor
Ceremony In Yad Vashem
No
File Number
M.31.2/250