Terwisga van Bertus ; Daughter: Siljade Hendrikje (Terwisga van)

Terwisga van, Bertus Siljade, Hendrikje (van Terwisga) In August 1942, Paul Mogendorff, of Arnhem, Gelderland, set out to escape deportation. He was ten years old and occasionally he met his older brothers and parents at various places where they were hiding, including the house of Johannes Bogaard* in Nieuw Vennep, North Holland. Eventually, Paul arrived in Balk, Friesland, at the home of Bertus van Terwisga. Bertus, a postman, was a widower and had two daughters. One of them, Hendrikje (Henny, later Siljade), took care of the house and also looked after Paul. Paul was given a new name and a cover story: his name was Paul de Boer and he was supposed to be the only child of a couple that was killed during the bombardments of Rotterdam. Bertus and Hendrikje did everything to make Paul comfortable and he had many fond memories of his time there, including the fact that he could go to school. In the 1944—1945 school year, he attended the class of the headmaster. Bertus and Henny’s motives were purely humanitarian. Paul stayed with them until September 1945, when he could return to his brothers in Arnhem. His parents had been caught and perished. After the war, Paul, his wife and his daughters maintained a good relationship with Bertus (until his death in 1964) and with Henny and her family. On March 18, 1996, Yad Vashem recognized Bertus van Terwisga and his daughter, Hendrikje Siljade-van Terwisga, as Righteous among the Nations.