Eringa Dirk & Johanna (Op 'T Holt)

Eringa, Dirk & Johanna Jantje (op ‘t Holt) Evalina Sophie Katz knew the Eringa family of Eindhoven because her grandparents and Johanna Eringa’s parents were neighbors in Meppel. Thus, the Eringas’ home was the first address that 17-year-old Evalina fled to when she was forced to leave her home by bicycle in September 1941. Dirk, an engineer at the Philips plant in Eindhoven, and Johanna warmly welcomed her into their home and told the fugitive that they had anticipated her arrival and that their daughter Pim had already prepared a room for her in their home. The Eringas spread the story that Evalina was the daughter of a divorced couple residing in Indonesia and implored their neighbors not to ask Evalina about her background because it was a sensitive issue. Evalina was treated as an equal member of the Eringa family and attended church with her hosts as well as frequenting children’s parties with her foster siblings. She helped with the household chores, principally by doing the shopping and stayed with the Eringas until the liberation of Eindhoven on September 19, 1944. The Eringas received 200 guilders a month from Evalina’s parents towards her upkeep, but their motives for sheltering the child were purely religious. Evalina later testified that some other Jews and anti-Nazi non-Jews also hid in the Eringas’ home during the war. On November 13, 1984, Yad Vashem recognized Dirk Eringa and his wife, Johanna Jantje Eringa-op ‘t Holt, as Righteous Among the Nations.