Schippers Geert & Wiegertje (Schaap)

Schippers, Geert & Wiegertje (Schaap) On October 31, 1944, Jan Schaap* brought Samuel Waterman and Leo Weyl to live with his sister, Wiegertje Schippers. The situation had become too dangerous for them to continue living with their other brother, Wolter, and Jan had been providing a temporary shelter for the two Jews. Geert and Wiegertje Schippers lived with their young daughter, Dirkje, in Munnekeburen, Friesland, in a house set back about 300 yards from the main road. Geert owned a small piece of land where he grew reeds that he cut himself. Two other Jews were already hiding with the family: Louis de Leeuw and his sister, Lien. In addition, there was a variety of other unusual guests: Jan Hofstee, who had returned with his German wife from forced labor for the Nazis; Jan van den Born, fleeing from the Berlin bombings; and, in January 1945, another fugitive from Haarlem. Despite their modest income, the Schipperses managed to shelter eight people. Toward the end of the war, obtaining even a bare minimum of food and fuel became almost impossible, yet Wiegertje continued to do her utmost to raise morale within the crowded house. Both the Schipperses and the Schaaps were very religious though they never made any attempt to convert the Jews hiding with them. The guests seldom left the house. If anyone came up the path, a small watchdog would howl the alert, allowing ample time to hide. The hosts always treated Samuel Waterman with the greatest of respect. Geert even arranged for a carpenter to make him a spinning wheel so that he could learn to spin and earn some money, which they then allowed him to keep for himself. After the liberation on April 13, 1945, Samuel stayed on another month with the Schippers family until he could rejoin his fiancée, whom he contacted through the Red Cross. On November 24, 1983, Yad Vashem recognized Geert Schippers and his wife, Wiegertje Schippers-Schaap, as Righteous Among the Nations.