de Lange Christine

Reutlinger, Christine Johanna (de Lange) Christine (Tieneke) de Lange was a member of the Westerweel* group. She began her underground activities by accompanying fugitives to the Belgian border. She later hid people in her home and also helped forge ration and identity cards. In 1943, Tieneke’s friend Jules Reutlinger put her in contact with members of Hehalutz, for whom she traveled to Westerbork in order to initiate necessary contacts. On one occasion, nine Jews were scheduled to break out from Westerbork and Tieneke and Tinus Schabbing* arrived at the camp late in the evening in order to lend them assistance. Only Jules Reutlinger succeeded in escaping and found shelter in Tieneke’s home in Amsterdam. During the course of the war, Tieneke’s home served as a temporary refuge for many Jews. Erich Sander, Friedel Rosenblatt-Weil, Annie Pinto, Rita de Jong, Erich and Ruth Flegenheimer-Stein, Karli Oroszlan, Rita de Jong-Hirschberg, Martin Uffenheimer, Lore Durlacher (later Goren), Max Windmüller, Eva Boehm-Frenkel, and Mirjam Waterman (later Pinkhof) were among those who hid with her for varying periods of time and survived the war. Tieneke also hid and took care of Margot Stern, who was mentally disturbed, until she could be safely relocated to a sanitarium in Ermelo, Gelderland. Among those who hid with Tieneke temporarily but died in concentration camps were Rob and Hes Cohen, Wim de Booij, Manfred Jacobsohn, and Hans Stein. Jules Reutlinger came to Tieneke looking for a refuge on March 22, 1944. He stayed with her until the end of the war. In 1949, Jules and Tieneke got married. After the war, Tieneke was officially recognized as a member of the Resistance and received an extraordinary pension from the Dutch Government. On December 14, 1981, Yad Vashem recognized Christine Johanna Reutlinger-de Lange as Righteous Among the Nations.