Schonewille Jan & Femmigje (Kikkert)

Schonewille, Jan & Femmigje (Kikkert) One cold November morning at a remote farm near Nieuwlande, the Schonewilles were greeted by the sudden arrival of a totally naked man, the Jew de Groot, in desperate flight from his German captors. The young de Groot had been hiding with Mr. and Mrs. Dirk van Dijken*, who had taken in several Jews. During one of the German house searches, the other Jews managed to escape but de Groot was seized and tortured. He managed, however, to escape, without his clothes, swimming across the canals of Nieuwlande until he came upon the Schonewille’s house, where he was welcomed and helped. On June 9, 1983, Yad Vashem recognized Jan Schonewille and his wife, Femmigje Schonewille-Kikkert, as Righteous Among the Nations.