Manen van Teunis ; Tietje (Kalsbeek van)

Manen van, Teunis & Tietje (van Kalsbeek) When the Weslij family of Maastricht decided to go underground on February 22, 1943, Arie van Mansum* found them a hiding place. Emil and Franzi Weslij were first taken to Bouwe and Anni de Jonge, near Heerlen. Their daughter, six-year-old Leoni, was hidden at the home of Johannes and Adriana Heijnen*, but the four-year-old son, Léon, who had been hidden elsewhere, was betrayed and perished in Auschwitz. In the wake of Arie’s arrest, Bouwe and Anni began to worry about the safety of their Jewish guests. Anni searched for an alternative hiding place but was only able to find a refuge for Franzi in an already overcrowded house. The shelter was only intended to serve for a couple of weeks as the woman of the house was due to give birth. Emil accompanied his wife to the home of Teunis and Tietje van Manen in Treebeek, Limburg, but the couple saw how difficult it was for the Weslijs to part and suggested that Franzi and their other Jewish refugee share a bed and Emil sleep in the living room. Ten days later, Tietje suggested that the Weslijs stay on after the birth. She subsequently gave birth to twins and Franzi did what she could to help with the new babies. The Weslijs stayed for 11 months, until the liberation on September 17, 1944. Born in Germany, Teunis and Tietje had acquired Dutch nationality. Teunis was a technical worker for the coal industry and active in the local Resistance. Through his underground connections, Teunis was warned of impending roundups of Jews and therefore the hidden refugees could be moved to alternative hiding places until the danger had passed. The van Manens knew that Franzi and Emil’s son had been deported by the Germans, but withheld this information from the parents until the liberation so as not to undermine their morale during the difficult days of the war. On February 6, 1986, Yad Vashem recognized Teunis van Manen and his wife, Tietje van Manen-van Kalsbeek, as Righteous Among theNations.