Waage Herman

Waage, Herman Jan Herman Waage headed an underground Resistance group that arranged false identity cards, distributed food cards, organized medical treatment, found hiding places, and even managed to entertain the many Jewish refugees in its charge. Unusually, this Resistance group ran an illegal cabaret under Herbert Nelson, whose father was Jewish and mother non-Jewish. Herbert left Germany in 1935 to rejoin his parents. When Herbert arrived in Amsterdam he became the lyricist for the German-language Nelson Revue. After the invasion, both father and son appeared in the Jewish theater in Amsterdam, the Hollandsche Schouwburg, which in 1942 was turned into an assembly point for Amsterdam Jews prior to deportation. It was at the Hollandsche Schouwburg that Rudi Gerson introduced his friend Herbert to Herman Waage in 1943. Together, the three men began to develop an underground theater group as part of the wider resistance effort. Herman Waage invited Herbert to perform for a group of Jews in hiding who had been given false identity cards by Mr. Waage’s Resistance group. After this performance, it was decided to start an anti-Nazi cabaret in Herbert’s apartment. Herbert performed together with two other actors, both half Jews: Enny de Leeuwe and Lou van den Burg. The programs were in Dutch and performed every Sunday afternoon for a non-Jewish audience. Even the other performers never realized that Herbert had two Jews concealed in the back room of the apartment. The audience paid for the performance with money, ration cards, or food, which was then divided among the performers. Some of the proceeds would then go to Herman’s group to feed Jews in hiding. The headquarters of the Resistance group were at the Waage home at 36 Bronckhorststraat. The bathroom was used as a hiding place and a brick wall on wheels served as a partition between the bathroom and the rest of the house. The group was, however, forced to abandon the house when six Jews were caught andarrested. Thanks to Herman Waage and his organization, many Jewish lives were saved. Herman sheltered Liesel Weiss, a German Jewish refugee, who was sick and in need of dialysis. He managed to arrange regular medical treatment for Liesel. He also rescued Edmund and Martha Stein-Daniel. In addition, he helped rescue about ten infants from the crèche opposite the Hollandsche Schouwburg and moved them to safety in the city of Utrecht. Herman also hid V. van Haaften-Hirschel at his parents’ home in nearby Zaandam for the last four months of the war. Herman Waage was arrested twice during the war. On the first occasion he was later released and on the second he escaped under a shower of bullets. His wife, Tine Waage-Kramer (later Boeke-Kramer*), was also arrested for her activities and deported to Vught and later Ravensbrück. After the liberation of the south of Holland, Herman joined the Allied forces. On January 1, 1986, Yad Vashem recognized Herman Jan Waage as Righteous Among the Nations.