Verhees Carolus & Petronella (Heijden van der)

Verhees, Carolus Verhees-van der Heijden, Petronella Carolus and Petronella Verhees, both in their early fifties, lived in Helmond (prov. Limburg) with their three daughters, Tonny, Riek and Elly, in the ages of 16 to 20. Carolus was a postal clerk, while Petronella was a housewife. The two older daughters worked in order to supplement the family income. At the beginning of 1944, the oldest daughter Tonny, who was a shopkeeper in a neighboring village, was approached by people, asking whether she knew a family that could take a Jewish baby into hiding. They themselves already had a number of Jews in hiding, and thus could not also take care of a baby. Tonny asked her parents, and in a joint decision it was agreed that the baby, Samuel Andriesse, b.1942, from Eindhoven (prov. North-Brabant) could come to their home, fully realizing that they would thus be putting their own family in danger. The next day, Tonny brought Samuel home. Neighbors and friends were told that Samuel, now called Miel, was the infant son of distant relatives, whose mother fell ill and could no longer care for him. The family physician was let in on the secret. Samuel was surrounded with loving care by all and he soon felt that the Verhees family was his own, calling Petronella, “moesje”, and Carolus, “ome Carel”. Samuel stayed with the Verheeses until the liberation of the town in September 1944. The youngest daughter Elly stayed home from school from time to time in order to help care for the toddler. Once, with the unexpected visit of Carolus’ boss, who was a sympathizer of the collaborating NSB movement, Samuel was quickly sent elsewhere. When it turned out that his parents, Nathan and Clara Andriesse had not survived, Samuel stayed on with the Verheeses until the end of 1945, when his paternal grandmother located him. He subsequently went to live with her and an aunt. The separation from the Verheeses was traumatic and Samuel spent every vacation with them from then on, stillconsidering them his first family, until he immigrated in 1962 to Israel with his adoptive family. In 1979, Samuel returned to the Netherlands with wife and children, and renewed frequent contact with the Verhees family. On August 21, 2005, Yad Vashem recognized Carolus Verhees and Petronella Verhees-van der Heijden, as Righteous Among the Nations.