Lith van Johannes & Maria (Verhagen)

Lith van, Johannes Adrianus Hubertus & Maria Petronella (Verhagen) Elfriede and Adolph Cohn fled from Berlin in 1935 and settled in Amsterdam, where their two sons, Michael and Uriel, were born. In 1942, they were forced to go into hiding. Adolph was a graphologist, employed at the Bruynzeel factory, which made wood products and had branches all over the country. After failing to get relocated to another branch of the company, and after refusing a proposal to escape to Belgium, he sent his family separately into hiding througout Holland. Elfriede was hidden with Karel van der Putt*, the mayor of Geldrop, North Brabant, and his family, posing as a maid. The van der Putt family also temporarily welcomed six-year-old Michael into their home. Then, in August 1942, with the help of Karel and the Catholic Church, Michael was relocated in the same village in the home of Johannes and Maria van Lith. The van Liths, farmers, warmly welcomed the child into their home. They refused to accept any payment toward his upkeep, and while with them, Michael used a false identity and false papers. In September 1944, Geldrop was liberated but by then Michael’s parents were hidden in the North and he could not return to them until July 1945. Karel van der Putt, who was one of the only mayors in Holland who refused to arrest Jews, was later arrested, deported, and perished at the hands of the Germans. On November 30, 1971, Yad Vashem recognized Johannes Adrianus Hubertus van Lith and his wife, Maria Petronella van Lith-Verhagen, as Righteous Among the Nations.