Iest van der Jan & Pietronella (Lieftink)

Iest van der, Jan & Pietronella Maria (Lieftink) When a raid threatened the Jews of Arnhem, Gelderland, in October 1942, Salomon Siegel begged his former business partner, Jan van der Iest, who had come to check on the Siegels, to hide his two daughters, Ruth and Margot. Jan promised to go back to his farm in Otterlo, Gelderland, and to talk to his wife, Petronella, but she refused to take the risk. Jan van der Meijden was sent to tell the Siegels of Nel’s decision, but when he saw how frightened they were he told them to send the girls the next morning to the farm. He was convinced that he could persuade Nel to shelter them. Ruth and Margot stayed with the van der Iests from October 6, 1942, until April 17, 1945. On January 10, 1973, Yad Vashem recognized Jan van der Iest and his wife, Pietronella Maria van der Iest-Lieftink, as Righteous Among the Nations.