Wildenburg Hendrikus & Elisabeth (Schoemaker)

Wildenburg, Hendrikus Wilhelmus J.A. & Elisabeth (Schoemaker) From 1942 on, Hendrikus (Henk) Wildenburg of Ede, Gelderland was an active member of the Dutch underground and assisted Allied pilots. In 1943, an American Jewish pilot, Carl Glassman, was hidden in his home. Henk and his wife Elisabeth also hid several Jewish families in their home during the war as well as helping many others find safe hideaways on farms. Aside from this, Henk was involved in raiding railroad stations and distribution centers as part of his underground work. Maurits Aronson and his mother were hidden in the Wildenburgs’ home. Maurits stayed there from 1944 until the Battle of Arnhem, when Maurits had to flee the front line because the Germans needed workers and were seizing people. His mother, who had been hiding in the Wildenburgs’ home since 1943, was a sickly woman. For the two years that she lived there, Elisabeth nursed her in a loving manner. She died in their home on November 11, 1944. Despite the danger involved, Henk and Elisabeth ensured that she received a proper funeral in the municipal cemetery in Ede. Later on in the war, Henk was arrested and sent to the Amersfoort concentration camp and then to a camp inside Germany. Nevertheless, Elisabeth continued to hide Jewish people in their home. On March 3, 1985, Yad Vashem recognized Henrikus Wilhelmus J.A. Wildenburg and his wife, Elisabeth Wildenburg-Schoemaker, as Righteous Among the Nations.