Knappert Adriana

Knappert, Adriana Henriëtte Elisabeth Susanne Adriana (Adri) Knappert was a native of The Hague and before the war was an instructor in the girl scouts. When the Germans banned the scouts, Adri lost her job and rented a summer house, het Weversnest (the Weaver’s Nest), in the hope that it would be a source of income. The house, which was in Nieuwebrug, Overijssel, was owned by the Baron van Pallandt and situated on the banks of the Regge River. After the start of the deportation of Jews and a visit by Anne Maclaine Pont*, a close friend of the Baron’s and a member of the Utrecht Children’s Committee (UKC)*, the tourists disappeared and were replaced by Jewish children. At the beginning Adri preferred taking boys, as she had the most experience with them. However, the head of the UKC, Jan Meulenbelt, managed to persuade her to provide shelter for the Jewish sisters Evaline (Lien) and Regina (Gien) Schijveschuurder (alias van Genderen). They arrived in Nieuwebrug in late 1942 and stayed with her for nearly two years. Others soon followed until there were about ten children living in het Weversnest between the ages of six and 13. The Bouteilles, a Jewish couple, lived in a hut in the garden for a while. The children had a Spartan though loving upbringing. Adri taught them courage, endurance, and survival as well as respect for nature and for their fellow man. After the war, the children confirmed that not for anything in the world would they have passed up the time they spent with “Aunt A.” Adri earned part of the children’s keep by working at Huize Archem, a country estate in the vicinity. In mid-1943, Adri was introduced to Ankie (Anna) Stork*, who coordinated for the UKC between the Jewish children and adults hiding elsewhere in the district. The network that Ankie had built up proved itself when in early 1944 het Weversnest began to attract too much attention. With the help of Hendrik Groten, a farmer from Lemele and one of Ankie’s contacts, Adri and all heryoung charges were moved to the de Eelerberg country estate near Hellendoorn, Overijssel, which was owned by F.A. Vening Meinesz, a professor from Utrecht. The de Eelerberg estate had plenty of space so Adri took a few more Jewish children under her wing, including ten-year-old Nico Groen, who had been hiding with his parents in Amsterdam for over a year in trying conditions. All together, Adri looked after 13 children at de Eelerberg. When a neighbor started making critical comments, Adri took the children on a six-week vacation to the Zonnegloren colonial house in Ede, Gelderland. The situation did not improve on their return and so Adri had to look for another hideout without Ankie’s help because Ankie had been arrested. She was not able to keep the children together and with a heavy heart let them go to separate hiding places. Adri herself went into hiding with the Stork family in Nijverdal and later in Ede, where she was liberated. On May 31, 1988, Yad Vashem recognized Adriana Henriëtte Elisabeth Susanne Knappert as Righteous Among the Nations.