Oppedijk Dirk & Gerritje ; Son: Wiebren ; Daughter: Hengst Akke

Oppedijk, Dirk & Gerritje & Wiebren Hengst, Akke (Oppedijk) Ten-year-old Ruth Jurgrau was brought to the Oppedijk family by an underground courier in October 1944. Until then, she had hidden at 14 different addresses. Her father Dov died in Auschwitz, and her mother Lea perished in Sobibor. Dirk and Gerritje Oppedijk had two adult children, Wiebren, 24, and Akke, 19, who welcomed Ruth and treated her like a member of the family. Ruth slept in Akke’s room and Akke became a mother figure for her as well as a private tutor since she was not allowed to go to school. She considered Wiebren a father and regarded Dirk and Gerritje Oppedijk as grandparents. Ruth made friends with a fellow refugee, Yehudi Lindeman, who was hiding on the neighboring farm of the Bonekamp family. She had already met Yehudi, who was a few years younger than her, at a previous hiding place. The Oppedijks were involved in underground activities such as hiding weapons on the farm and sheltering men who were avoiding forced labor in Germany, as well as an English navigator. The Germans began to suspect the Oppedijks of illegal activities and frequently searched the house. A special hiding place under the roof was prepared for Ruth, where she often hid for hours on end. On one occasion, there was not enough time for her to conceal herself in the hiding space and so she sat “doing her homework” with another refugee girl from Venlo, whom the Germans questioned, but they eventually left. Wiebren, meanwhile, was hiding in a previously prepared hideout as he was also avoiding forced labor. Ruth stayed with the Oppedijks well beyond the liberation of Friesland in April 1945, until October of that year, when a friend of her parents came to pick her up. On June 23, 1996, Yad Vashem recognized Dirk Oppedijk, his wife, Gerritje Oppedijk, their son, Wiebren Oppedijk, and their daughter, Akke Hengst-Oppedijk, as Righteous Among the Nations.