Vegt van der Jan & Vegt van de Gerrigje (Westerman)

Vegt van der, Jan Hendrik & Gerrigje (Westerman) In the summer of 1943, eight-year-old Ed van Thijn of Amsterdam and his mother were dragged out of their beds and sent to the Westerbork transit camp. Ed’s father, Salomon, a member of the Jewish Council, was away from home when his family was arrested. About one month later, Ed and his mother returned to Amsterdam and were hospitalized in the Central Israelite Hospital. Subsequently, NV activist Truus Vermeer* took Ed out of the hospital and escorted him to Brunssum, Limburg. Meanwhile, Ed’s parents went into hiding in Breda (North Brabant) and then in Hilversum (North Holland). From then on, Ed hid in around 18 different places. In September 1944, Herman Flim* took him to the last one, with Jan and Gerrigje van der Vegt, on their farm in Nieuw-Leussen, Overijssel. Ed was happy hiding there. He was outside all day long, ate well, and became good friends with his fellow fugitive, a former railroad worker. However, after awhile, Ed and the railway man were noticed by neighbors and betrayed. In late November 1944, German and Dutch policemen raided the farm. They found the two and took them as well as Jan away for interrogation. Jan was released shortly afterward. Ed was interned in the House of Detention in Zwolle, Overijssel, where he was the youngest prisoner, for four weeks. In January 1945, he was again transferred to Westerbork, from where he was liberated in April 1945. On June 30, 1992, Yad Vashem recognized Jan Hendrik van der Vegt and his wife, Gerrigje van der Vegt-Westerman, as Righteous Among the Nations.