Kuiper Johan & Johanna (Henkelman)

Kuiper, Johan & Johanna Maria (Henkelman) In June 1943, Henri Kater and his family realized that they had to go into hiding. Up until that point he had been exempt from deportation because he worked for the Philips Company in Eindhoven, but this was no longer the case. It was, however, not possible for his little daughter, Henriette Rosa (later Vered), to hide in the same place as her parents and siblings. The underground took her to Johan and Johanna Kuiper in Hoofddorp, North Holland. The Kuipers, who had been married for seven years and had no children, were delighted to receive the three-month-old baby. They told friends and neighbors that the infant was Johan’s sister’s illegitimate daughter, and no one asked further questions. Although Henriette’s father Henri repeatedly offered to pay for the baby’s upkeep, Johan and Johanna refused any kind of compensation; they were motivated by Christian and humane considerations. Johan, a radio technician, was a member of the underground and was able to obtain forged food distribution papers for the baby. After the war, the Kuipers gave Henriette back to her parents and soon had a son of their own. Henriette, however, continued to think of Johan and Johanna as her foster parents, calling them “Mother” and “Father,” and she spent all her vacations with them, especially after her parents divorced. On July 13, 1972, Yad Vashem recognized Johan Kuiper and his wife, Johanna Maria Kuiper-Henkelman, as Righteous Among the Nations.