Lowijs Albert & Jantje (Slomp)

Vries de, Hendrik Vries de-Oosting, Geertje Lowijs, Albert Lowijs-Slomp, Jantje Meinen, Willem Meinen-van Laar, Hermina Berendina Henri Max Cohen, born in 1903, was married to a non-Jewish woman, and as such he was not immediately subject to deportations for ‘work in the East’. In addition, as the owner of a textile company, his business was important for the German war machine, with its need for uniforms. He thus had a relative advantage, which he used to locate hiding addresses for fellow Jews, among whom his own sister, Reina Parsser-Cohen. When Reina was caught at her hiding address in October 1943, and under severe pressure mentioned the name of her brother, Henri too was arrested by Dutch SD officers. He was put on the train to the Westerbork transit camp, but managed to jump and escape near the town of Assen (prov. Drenthe). After wandering during the night through the area, he knocked on the door of complete strangers the following morning, which turned out to be Hendrik and Geertje de Vries from Beilen, also in Drenthe. Without asking questions, they took him in and gave him food. Hendrik was the lockkeeper of the local canal. The family had seven children. When it soon became clear that Henri was a Jew who had escaped, they kept him in their home until Henri was fit enough to leave for the hiding address of a local farmer who had offered to help in times of need. However, when Henri arrived there, the farmer was no longer willing to take the risk, even though he now had a false identity card. While again wandering the area, Henri looked for signs at each house to possibly understand the disposition of the people living there. He knocked on the door of Willem and Hermina Meinen, farmers in the village of Bruchterveld (prov. Overijssel) presenting himself as an agricultural inspector. Seeing a picture of the Queen in their kitchen, he understood he could reveal his true purpose and identity. The Meinens had five children at the time. Henriwas welcomed into the home, and stayed until the liberation of the area in April 1945. Whenever there were house searches in the area, Henri was moved to Albert and Jantje Lowijs, also farmers in nearby Nieuw Balinge. They had two grown children. When the immediate danger had passed, Henri returned to the Meinens. On February 16, 2011, Yad Vashem recognized Hendrik de Vries and Geertje de Vries-Oosting, Albert Lowijs and Jantje Lowijs-Slomp, as well as Willem Meinen and Hermina Berendina Meinen-van Laar as Righteous Among the Nations.