Mes Johannes & Margaretha (Dinther van)

Mes, Johannes Mes-van Dinther, Margaretha Johannes Mes, an engineer, and Margaretha (Margreet) van Dinther were both working at the Philips plant in Eindhoven (prov. North-Brabant) in 1940. They married in 1941, and in 1942 their daughter Femmy was born, followed by Ineke in 1943. Johannes and Margreet felt that they could not stand by idly, when they witnessed the firing of the Jews from their company, followed by other anti-Jewish measures. They made it known to a local underground group that they were willing to help out, if needed. And so, in September 1943, through the intervention of Margreet’s brother Fons van Dinther, active in the local underground, they learned that a number of Jews needed a place to hide. The de Wits, parents Louis and Philippina (née Leviticus), son Maurits, 13, daughter Marianne, as well as Louis’ brother Isidor, his wife Beletje (née Roosenfelt) and their daughter Ro, had been ordered in August 1942 to report to Westerbork, for “work in the East”. At the last moment, however, they decided to look for places to hide instead. After staying at a number of very temporary hiding addresses, all in their home city Eindhoven, they were referred to Johannes and Margreet Mes, who welcomed the de Wit family in their big rented house in the city. The families shared the available space and each family had its own floor in the house. In addition to the extended de Wit family, Maurits and Regina Blomhoff as well as Meier Wertheim and Celine Wertheim-Blomhoff were also in hiding in that house. The Jews had to stay indoors at all times in order not to be seen by anyone, and they had to keep very quiet inside as well, so as not to be heard. None of the de Wits had false papers, which could possibly have protected them in case of a personal or house search. Over the subsequent year, Johannes and Margreet made sure that all in hiding were provided with their basic needs. They did the shopping for them, often with food stamps obtained illegally through Fons van Dinther and others, and were a source of support for the Jews in hiding. The de Wits participated in the many extra expenses as much as they could. Even though Johannes and Margreet had their own two daughters to take care of, they also managed to take care of all the needs of the de Wit and Blomhoff children. Luckily the house they stayed in was never searched. The risk the Meses took was especially great, since the de Wits were well known in the city. They had owned a large department store and word had gotten out that they had not reported “for work in the East”, as ordered. All those in hiding lived to see the liberation of the area in September 1944. Contact between the families continued also after the war, even after the immigration of Johannes and Margreet to Canada. On August 15, 2004, Yad Vashem recognized Johannes Mes and Margaretha Mes-van Dinther, as Righteous Among the Nations. The official presentation of the certificate of honour and medal took place in Ottawa on April 17, 2005, at the residence of Alan Baker, Israel’s Ambassador to Canada. The certificate and the medal were presented to the children of the Mes van Dinther couple.