Meijden van der Jan

Meijden van der, Jan Willem Jan van der Meijden worked as a farmhand for Jan and Petronella (Nel) van der Iest* on their farm in Otterlo, Gelderland. The couple, who had no children of their own, came to regard Jan as their own son. Through business contacts, they had become friendly with a German Jewish family, Salomon and Emily Siegel and their three children, who had fled to Arnhem in Holland after the Nazis came to power. Following the raid of October 1942, Jan van der Iest cycled to Arnhem to find the Siegels, who begged him to hide their two teenage daughters, Ruth and Margot, on the farm. Jan promised to ask his wife, Nel, but she refused to take the risk. Jan van der Meijden was sent to tell the Siegels of Nel’s decision, but when he saw how frightened they were he told them to send the girls the next morning to the farm. He was convinced that he could persuade Nel to shelter them. Ruth and Margot Siegel arrived on the morning of October 6, 1942, after a 15-kilometer bike ride during a curfew hour for Jews. When Jan came back from the fields for breakfast, he persuaded Nel to let them stay, saying that he would take responsibility for their daily welfare. Jan gave up his attic room to Ruth and Margot and took care of the extra shopping, cooking, and laundry. He brought them food three times a day and water for washing up as well as emptying their toilet bucket. He also brought them a selection of books from his sister. The girls’ parents managed to find a hiding place for themselves, but had to flee during the Battle of Arnhem. From September 1944 until the liberation on April 17, 1945, they joined Ruth and Margot on the van der Iest farm. Barend Sloof also hid on the farm with his father and brother-in-law. On one occasion, the Germans launched a search for Allied soldiers who had parachuted into the area, but the van der Iest farm was spared. Jan van der Meijden then decided to build a hiding place in the hayloft, into which the girls and their parentswould crawl during times of danger. When soldiers were quartered on the farm, the refugees could not leave their hiding place, but Jan made sure they received food without attracting unwanted attention. On January 10, 1973, Yad Vashem recognized Jan Willem van der Meijden as Righteous Among the Nations.