Nijenhuis Te Tjalle & Sophia (Diggele van)

Nijenhuis te, Tjalle & Sophia (van Diggele) When members of the underground asked Tjalle te Nijenhuis of Rijnsburg, South Holland, if he would shelter an elderly Jewish couple who were hiding out with people who cared only about the money and did not even feed them properly, Tjalle agreed on condition that his wife, Sophia, also agreed. Sophia was afraid to take in the couple, but when she asked her father for advice, Mr. van Diggele told her it was her Christian duty to help people in need. Thus, Mr. and Mrs. (de Vries) van Aalst came to live with Tjalle, Sophia, and their three children. Tjalle and Sophia treated the fugitives lovingly and refused to accept any money over and above what was needed for their upkeep. The van Aalsts remained with their hosts until a month after the war ended, when their daughter arrived from Auschwitz with news that her husband, her brother, his wife, and all his children had not survived the camp. Tjalle and Sophia immediately invited her to stay with her parents so she could regain her strength after the terrible experiences she had lived through. Since the house was not large, Tjalle built a small room in the attic for the van Aalsts’ daughter and the three of them remained there for another two months. The two families maintained their friendship even after the refugees left. On November 11, 1980, Yad Vashem recognized Tjalle te Nijenhuis and his wife, Sophia te Nijenhuis-van Diggele, as Righteous Among the Nations.