Barmentloo Marta (Nagtegaal); Brother: Nagtegaal Piet ; Sister-In-Law: Nagtegaal Teuni (van der Veen); Father: Nagtegaal Arie ; Mother: Nagtegaal Johanna (Krommenhoek); Brother: Nagtegaal Jacob ; Sister-In-Law: Nagtegaal Celia (Lit van)

Barmentloo-Nagtegaal, Martha In 1931 when Martha Nagtegaal* was 16 years old she moved to Rotterdam to work as the live-in help of Martin and Elisabeth Hertz, their two sons, Jacques and Marcel, and their daughter, Bertha. Ten years later, when the Germans forbade Christians to work for Jews, Martha was forced to quit. In July 1942, when the Hertz family was called up for work in the East and obediently began to prepare themselves for the journey, Martha paid them a surprise visit, informing her former employers that her family had unanimously decided that the Hertz family belonged in the Netherlands. Martin and Elisabeth had not even considered the possibility of going into hiding and it was not easy for Martha to persuade them that it was necessary. Martha and her relatives had already worked out a detailed plan for helping the Hertz family: Martin and Elisabeth would go to Martha’s elder brother and his wife, Piet and Teuni Nagtegaal*, in Schiedam, South Holland. Jacques was sent to a family in Veenendaal, Utrecht, and his fiancée, Rachel Roos (later Rachel Hertz-Roos), was sent to a family in De Klomp, Gelderland. Marcel (later Moshe Harel) was relocated to the home of Martha’s parents, Arie and Johanna Nagtegaal*, in Bennekom, Gelderland, where he would work in the plant nursery. Twelve-year-old Bertha was moved to the home of Martha’s younger brother and his wife, Jacob and Celia Nagtegaal*. Martha herself became the Hertz family’s lifeline. She took care of obtaining ration cards and provisions and of forwarding letters to all the Hertz family members. Martha also helped the fugitive family find temporary hiding places whenever danger loomed and she acted as a contact between Martin and his employer, who continued to pay Martin’s salary throughout the war. Most importantly, however, Martha acted as a correspondent among the dispersed family members, thereby encouraging all of them. After the war Martha married Maarten Barmentloo and moved with him toAustralia, but she never lost contact with the Hertz family. On February 24, 1988, Yad Vashem recognized Martha Barmentloo-Nagtegaal as Righteous Among the Nations.