Nijdam Abraham & Trijntje (Jongsma); Daughter: Ket Greta (Nijdam)

Nijdam, Abraham Johannes & Trijntje (Jongsma) Willem Dresden was one of the first Jewish children brought by the ASG to Leeuwarden, Friesland. He arrived there in February 1943, aged 14 months. A few days after his arrival, Krijn van den Helm* took him to the Nijdam family home in Heerenveen, Friesland. Abraham and Trijntje Nijdam lived in a spacious, detached house with their two adult children and a nephew. They took very good care of Willem, telling the neighbors about the child and thereby creating a protective barrier around him. Willem called his foster parents by the Frisian terms “heit’ and “mem”. The Nijdams’ daughter, 23-year-old Greta (later Ket-Nijdam), played an important role in Willem’s education. In addition, Greta worked as a courier for van den Helm. A year after Willem’s arrival at the Nijdams, Abraham and Trijntje took in a second Jewish refugee, 42-year-old Nanette Schrijver, a nurse. In August 1944, the Germans ordered Abraham Nijdam, who worked as a supervisor for the Dutch railroad system, to convert a double track into a single one and ship the surplus rails to the eastern front. After consulting with his wife, Abraham decided to refuse to carry out the order. As a consequence, all seven members of his household had to hide. They fled to a farm in Oldeboorn, Friesland, where Abraham had an unmarried brother and sister. They were betrayed at the farm and although Nanette and Willem’s forged papers passed the inspection, Abraham, his 18-year-old son, Han, and his nephew were arrested and incarcerated in Leeuwarden. Abraham was sentenced to death for his refusal to carry out the order. Fortunately, the Frisian KP succeeded in rescuing him (and 50 other prisoners) on December 8, 1944, and he went into hiding. In the meantime, Trijntje, Nanette, and Willem had left their hideaway and began to wander between a series of temporary shelters. Eventually, Nanette went to stay in Appelscha, Friesland and the others were liberated in Heerenveen onApril 15, 1945. One month later, Abraham and Trijntje witnessed the reunion between Willem, who was in good health, and his parents and elder sister, who had survived Bergen-Belsen. On January 28, 1982, Yad Vashem recognized Abraham Johannes Nijdam his wife, Trijntje Nijdam-Jongsma, as Righteous Among the Nations.