Sytsma Engbert & Sophie (Wolf)

Sijtsma, Engbert & Sophie Helene Gertrud (Wolf) Engbert and Gertrud Sijtsma owned a farm in Aalsum, Friesland. They had four children ranging in age from two to ten, but this did not deter them from offering to hide 17-year-old C. Z. Kanteman, originally from Hamburg and living in Holland since the 1930s. In December 1943, after having stayed at several addresses, the Resistance escorted the Jewish girl to the Sijtsmas, where she was welcomed like a member of the family. Miss Kanteman was represented to the Sijtsma children as an aunt from Hamburg. It was due to their cooperation and understanding that Miss Kanteman could move freely around the Sijtsma home rather than being confined to a single room. In December 1944, the Grüne Polizei, having been informed that the Sijtsmas were hiding weapons dropped by the Allies, searched their farm thoroughly. Miss Kanteman was hidden in a special hideout and was not discovered but it was decided that she should move elsewhere. She was soon transferred to the home of Minze and Klaaske Benedictus*, where she remained until the end of the war. After the liberation in May 1945, Miss Kanteman returned to the Sijtsma family, where she remained until September of that year. From then on, the refugee and her host family maintained an especially close relationship. On September 13, 1982, Yad Vashem recognized Engbert Sijtsma and his wife, Sophie Helene Gertrud Sijtsma-Wolf, as Righteous Among the Nations.