Peters Jan & Maria (Roberts)

Peters, Jan Michiel & Maria Wilhelmina (Roberts) When Gienga Keizer’s father was arrested and deported in 1942, she was forced to move from Utrecht to Amsterdam with her mother, sister, and brother. There, the family made contact with the Amsterdam Student Group* (ASG), which arranged hiding places for the Keizers in Limburg. After moving between various locations, Gienga Keizer (later Shimonowicz) was sheltered by the Peters family in Geleen. Jan Michiel Peters, who lived with his wife, Maria, and two daughters, made a modest living as a miner. The family also sheltered a number of other Jewish refugees for short periods of time. Whenever a raid was imminent, Gienga was brought to stay with relatives of the Peters family in other villages. Maria Peters also helped Gienga stay in touch with her own family, which was hiding in the same area. The Peterses acted out of purely humanitarian principles and always treated Gienga as another daughter. After the liberation of Limburg, the family immediately tried to reunite Gienga Keizer with her surviving family. Gienga maintained a close relationship with her rescuers and their daughters and grandchildren. After she immigrated to Israel, she returned to Holland to visit the Peters family and their daughters came to see her in Israel. On July 15, 1981, Yad Vashem recognized Jan Michiel Peters and his wife, Maria Wilhelmina Peters-Roberts, as Righteous Among the Nations.