Mos Jan & Maria (Garrelds)

Mos, Jan Dirk & Maria Antonia (Garrelds) Police officer Jan Dirk (Dik) Mos and his wife, Maria (Rie), were responsible for arranging shelter for 13 members of the Rose family. Dik was visiting houses in Enschede, Overijssel, to check that dog owners were in possession of a license for their animals. When he came to the home of Ulla Goldschmidt, she told him that she could barely feed herself and that she was Jewish. Dik told her of the danger she was in and advised her to go into hiding. Dik hid Ulla’s three nieces, Maritje, Lientje and Nanny, as well as her sisters Erna and Frieda Rose. In March 1943, Dik found a refuge for Else, Ulla’s third sister, and Else’s husband, Karl Godschalk, in Enschede. Six of the Roses, Fred and Eleanore Rose and their daughter, Esther Marianne, Fred’s father, Rudolf Rose, Ulla and her mother-in-law, Yetta Goldschmidt, were all placed with the Kleinjan* family, who already had two small children of their own. Dik and Rie were a constant source of optimism for the Roses during their time in hiding. The couple spent all their spare time with the refugees and became their link to the outside world. Rie brought books for Esther Marianne so that she could be taught to read. During the long summer vacation, Rie would take the girl to her home, saying that she was a visiting relative. After the underground killed a local Dutch collaborator, the Germans retaliated by sending 30 Dutch police officers to forced labor in Germany, including Dik Mos. Despite his absence, Rie, who was by then pregnant, continued to care for the Jews in hiding and warned them to be particularly careful. After the war, Dik was reunited with his family but his health deteriorated as a result of what he had endured in the forced labor camp. On July 17, 1977, Yad Vashem recognized Jan Dirk Mos and his wife, Maria Antonia Mos-Garrelds, as Righteous Among the Nations.