Schaafsma Gerrit & Johanna (Graaf de)

Schaafsma, Gerrit Schaafsma, Johanna Catarina (de Graaf) Just a few months after the Germans invaded the Netherlands in May 1940, a firstborn son was born to Nathan Jut and Ruth (née Zwarts). The little boy was named Lode Frank. The Jut family lived in Amsterdam, where Lode Frank spent the first two years of his life with his loving parents. In 1942 Nathan and Ruth decided it would be best that their little boy not stay with them in Amsterdam anymore. The Germans had started raiding the city and systematically arresting all Jewish citizens, sending them to concentration camps. The Juts made contact with Johanna Catarina Schaafsma (née de Graaf, b. 1893), who was active in a resistance group near the Reformed Church in West Amsterdam. First, Lode Frank went for a short while to the Schaafsma family, in order to get used to them. When the intensity of the raids lowered a little bit, he was brought back to his parents in Amsterdam. Although Johanna Schaafsma offered Nathan and Ruth a hiding place as well, the Juts decided that they did not want to endanger others and remained in Amsterdam. One day they were caught in a raid and sent to concentration camps. They never returned. Little Lode Frank miraculously escaped the raid with the help of neighbors and was brought by the resistance to the Schaafsma family in Overveen, in the municipality Bloemendaal, to the west of Haarlem. Gerrit Schaafsma (b. 1891) and Johanna again received him with open arms. Even though they had nine children of their own and many mouths to feed, they treated the little boy as if he were their own. The Schaafsma children were very fond of Lode, who amazed them with his cleverness. He taught himself to read both books and music at a very young age, and he was alert and happy. Gerrit Schaafsma was Lode’s best friend. Lode always sat next to him at the table and helped him find the right chapter for the Bible reading after the meal. He also loved singing. The Schaafsmas’ son Gerrit played the piano, and very soon Lode knew all the songs they were singing. Close to the Schaafsmas’ house was a pond with a little sign next to it saying something like “no fishing” or “no dogs allowed,” but when Lode saw this sign, he said: “I am not allowed to be here, because there is a sign saying ‘forbidden for Jews!’” The Schaafsma family hid other Jews as well: Fritz Kahlenberg, who was a photographer, two Polak sisters, Mr. Nord, who was arrested on one of his trips to Amsterdam, and Mieke Coster. Mieke was brought by Johanna to Johanna’s sister and her husband, where she survived the war and afterward was adopted by them. Jetze, the Schaafsmas’ son, voluntarily reported for forced labor in Germany, in his father’s place, to save his father and the family from having the house searched. This was a very brave deed, and fortunately, he returned to his family after the war. There was a very strong bond between the Schaafsma family and Lode. After the liberation he was adopted by his aunt Greet Brakel Zwarts, and the Schaafsmas missed him very much. Lode visited them after the war and invited them to his wedding. After Lode Frank Jut (later Brakel) passed away in 1981, warm contact remained between the Schaafsma children and Lode’s wife and his adoptive brother, Joost Brakel. On August 18, 2015, Yad Vashem recognized Gerrit and Johanna Catarina (de Graaf) Schaafsma as Righteous Among the Nations.