Verstraelen Gerard & Johanna (Driessen)

Verstraelen, Gerard & Johanna P. (Driessen) In 1943, underground members took Henny Eickenboom (later Schwegler), born in 1933, from her family home in Maastricht to Gerard and Johanna Verstraelens’ home in Blitterswijk, Limburg. Blitterswijk was a small village where Gerard and Johanna, in their thirties, lived with their one son, Chris. They were a well-respected family and lived in a house opposite the village school (which Henny was not permitted to attend). Henny’s room was in the front of the house, which was rather risky. Consequently, whenever house searches occurred, which was often, she had to be moved to the chicken coop, the rabbit hutch, the windmill, or a neighbor’s barn or cellar. Ration cards were provided by Hanna van de Voort* or Nico Dohmen* from nearby Tienray. As the war progressed, the fighting imposed on the family’s routine more and more. First, they had to take care of wounded German and British soldiers. Then Blitterswijk was evacuated because of the bombing. The Verstraelens fled with Henny and their son to Venray, which was overflowing at the time. Henny sat on the handlebars of a bicycle for part of the treacherous journey because the waters were so high. In Venray, the refugees from Blitterswijk found shelter in the local church and the hospital and the local population warmly welcomed them. After the liberation of the area in the fall of 1944, the Verstraelens returned to their village and found it in ruins. The school had been flattened and their house had been partly destroyed. Nevertheless, the Verstraelens were happy that they had at least managed to save the life of one Jewish girl. On July 7, 1986, Yad Vashem recognized Gerard Verstraelen and his wife, Johanna P. Verstraelen-Driessen, as Righteous Among the Nations.