From Jan

From, Jan Jan From, widowed at the age of about sixty, lived in the village of Haule (prov. Friesland) when the Netherlands was occupied in May 1940. Four of his children, all adults, were still living at home. His son Roelof From* and his wife, Anna, lived in nearby Donkerbroek. The family was strictly Calvinist (Gereformeerd). After having heard of the hardships of the Jews and their deportations, Jan decided to act to hide Jews in his home. So when he was approached by a friend who was active in a local underground cell, to hide a Jewish couple, he agreed to do so. In mid-1943, Albert and Geertje Silverenberg arrived. They were both in their forties and soon became part of the expanded family. They stayed for nearly two years until the liberation of the area in April 1945. Jan also hid a Mrs. De Jong-van Raalte for a short period, until she could find another hiding address. Resistance people also found temporary shelter in Jan’s home. The Silverenbergs immigrated to Canada in the early fifties and lost all contact with Jan From. However, contact was reestablished with a From grandson in the late 90s. On February 23, 2003, Yad Vashem recognized Jan From as Righteous Among the Nations.