Wildbergh Abraham & Mechtelina (Loran); Daughter: Sluiter Gerarda (Wildbergh)

Wildbergh, Abraham Antonie & Mechtelina (Loran) Sluiter, Gerarda (Wildbergh) Marianne Slager was born in 1935. She had two brothers and lived with her parents in Bilthoven Utrecht. In 1942, when the deportations from Holland began, Marianne and her brothers were sent to their grandparents. However, in October of the same year, her grandparents were deported. The children were taken to hiding places found by Dirk de Ridder*, who worked for the underground. After being hidden at numerous places, Marianne was placed, together with her parents, at the home of the van de Bor* family in Utrecht, where they remained for two years, from June 1943 to May 1945. Gerarda Wildbergh was active in the underground. She would often go and look after Marianne and her parents. Little Marianne had great difficulties with her fugitive situation; despite being only a child, she was instructed not to laugh or cry and she had to learn to suppress normal human emotions. As a consequence, she was not a healthy child. During her visits, Gerarda would teach Marianne how to behave so that she could take her out for a stroll. At times, Gerarda would bring Marianne along to distribute underground information. Sometimes Marianne would spend a period of up to two weeks at the home of Gerarda’s parents, Abraham and Mechtelina Wildbergh. Mechtelina was sick and bed-ridden but Abraham himself was also an active member of the Dutch underground and he participated in Gerarda’s endeavors. On December 15, 1985, Yad Vashem recognized Abraham Antonie Wildbergh, his wife, Mechtelina Wildbergh-Loran, and their daughter, Gerarda Sluiter-Wildbergh, as Righteous Among the Nations.