Bartels Elisabeth ; Mother: Johanna (Striethorn)

Bartels Johanna Antonia (Striethorn) & Elisabeth Gertruida In 1940 Johanna Bartels’ husband, one of the first members of the armed resistance, was imprisoned for anti-German activities. Nevertheless, Johanna (known as Annie), who lived in Laren, North Holland, sheltered Mr. and Mrs. Kattenburg-Pollack during the war. In December 1943 a number of hidden Jews faced the sudden danger of discovery and were forced to find new hideouts quickly. Annie welcomed Ella Schöndorff, her husband, Kurt, who she already knew, and Edgar Simon Weinberg-Wyvern into her home. Annie’s daughter, Elisabeth (known as Els), provided food, stolen or forged ration cards, and various other necessities for the five people hiding with her mother. She also regularly collected soup bones from local butchers, from which the fugitives made pendants that they sold to contribute to their upkeep. There were no other financial arrangements. On the top floor of Annie’s old house were two tiny rooms illuminated only by a low window. The doors to the two rooms were opposite one another and the fugitives used the space between them to hang laundry. Above this space, Edgar built a hiding place in the ceiling where the Jews slept and hid their personal belongings. The space was completely dark and could only be reached by a ladder that was hoisted up before the entrance to the hideout was closed. Once a week a former servant came to do the laundry and help out in several other ways. However, after some time she fell under the influence of an SD man and betrayed her former employers. On February 16, 1944, when the Germans came to apprehend the Jews Els was not at home and Ella Schöndorff managed to escape through the back door. The four other Jews and Annie were all arrested and taken to German police headquarters in Amsterdam. The Jews urged Annie to declare that they had lied about their identity and that she did not know they were Jews, but she refused to do so. When a German officer started tointerrogate her, she said: “Who are you to ask me questions?” She was then carried away forcefully, maltreated, and deported. Even with both her parents in German hands, Els refused to give in. She remained at home, visited her mother in prison, and was interrogated by the SS about the whereabouts of Ella Schöndorff. The SS even promised to release her mother if she disclosed the address of friends where Ella could possibly be found. Els refused to talk. In the meantime, she hid scores of machineguns for the underground in the same concealed area previously used by refugees. Annie died in Ravensbrück on January 29, 1945. Her husband died in Dachau in April 1945. Kurt Schöndorff and the Kattenburgs never returned from the camps. After the war, Edgar Weinberg-Wyvern married Ella Schöndorff. They maintained excellent relations with Els. On February 26, 1981, Yad Vashem recognized Johanna Antonia Bartels-Striethorn and her daughter, Elisabeth Gertruida Bartels, as Righteous Among the Nations.