Kampen van Albert & Aaltje (Bontsema)

Kampen van, Albert & Aaltje (Bontsema) Albert and Aaltje van Kampen hid Bernard and Henriette van Geuns, a Jewish couple, and their daughter Julia from July 1942 until May 1945 in the small rural community of Jipsinghuizen, Groningen. At the time of the German invasion, Bernard owned a butcher shop in Hoogezand-Sappemeer. Aaltje van Kampen and her husband were friends of people who lived in a house that the van Geunses owned, and when Bernard met Aaltje she promised to shelter him and his family should they need to hide. Bernard accepted the offer. On October 4, his wife joined him. Their daughter Julia remained at home until February 12, 1943, when the police came to look for her and she fled across the roof to the van Kampens. Albert van Kampen, a guard at the locks on the canal near the German border, and Aaltje had to take every possible precaution to protect the van Geunses. This was difficult since, because of Albert’s job, he had the only telephone in the area, which was frequently used by neighbors, including the leader of the local Nazi group himself. Albert and Aaltje had to invent one excuse after another to keep their friends and relatives away. The van Kampens tried to make life as pleasant as possible for their guests despite the trying circumstances. Bernard and Henriette insisted on contributing a minimal sum to pay for the feeding of three additional people, but the van Kampens refused to accept more than this. Albert and Aaltje bought food from the farmers in the region, so the two families were never hungry. After the war, when Bernard, Henriette, and Julia moved back to their hometown, Albert and Aaltje felt out of place in Jipsinghuizen and joined them. Bernard found Albert a job in Hoogezand-Sappemeer and provided them with housing on one of his properties. The families visited each other every week and celebrated anniversaries and birthdays together. On March 31, 1981, Yad Vashem recognized Albert van Kampen and his wife, Aaltje vanKampen-Bontsema, as Righteous Among the Nations.