Meulen van der Johan & Mary (Engelberts)

Meulen van der, John & Mary E. (Engelberts) John and Mary van der Meulen of Arnhem, Gelderland, wished to show their solidarity with the Jews. On May 3, 1942, they went out into the streets and befriended Ernst Leffmann and his wife, Käthe, who were wearing their yellow stars for the first time. Shortly after this initial meeting, the van der Meulens offered the Leffmanns a hiding place in their home. On the night of December 10, 1942, Ernst, Käthe, and their daughter secretly made their way to the home of the van der Meulens. When they arrived there, they were amazed to find that the couple was already hiding two other Jews. Although the conditions of their hideout were not luxurious, the Jews were treated well. At night, in order to get a breath of fresh air, John and Mary would accompany those they were hiding to the gardens, where they could enjoy the outdoors. The van der Meulens obtained ration cards for the Leffmanns, and although the Leffmanns contributed towards household expenses, the van der Meulens did not profit from the situation. One day, the Germans were planning a raid on the van der Meulens’ home. With the help of a government official and the former mayor of the town, both of whom were anti-German, the van der Meulens found a new place to hide. The new place was not as safe as their old house, and on October 2, 1943, the house was raided by the German and Dutch police, who were searching for illegal radio transmitters. They discovered the five people in hiding. John, Ernst, and the four other Jews were all imprisoned. The woman who had been hiding with the van der Meulens committed suicide in prison; the man was set free because he was married to a non-Jew. John van der Meulen was sent to the Vught camp. Ernst and Käthe Leffmann and their daughter went to Westerbork and later to Bergen-Belsen. John van der Meulen and the entire Leffmann family survived the war. On July 14, 1971, Yad Vashem recognized John van der Meulen and his wife, Mary E.Engelberts-van der Meulen, as Righteous Among the Nations.