Hoffmann Aloisia

Hoffmann, Aloisia Aloisa Hoffmann was born in Linz, Austria. She moved to Amsterdam, where she opened a café, De Silversen Spiegel, which became popular with the German occupying forces. Despite the presence of the Germans in the café, Hoffmann hid a Jewish family: Barend de Hond, his wife, Duifje, their son, Abraham (Ab), and Barend’s mother, Judith. They hid in her home, which was in the floor above her business. Barend de Hond was most resourceful, and he would steal food from the Germans’ trucks parked in the street, while their drivers were in the café getting drunk. De Hond, who before the occupation had worked as a demolition expert also built false walls in the building’s attic, creating hiding places. Eventually, other Jews joined the de Honds in their hiding place, and Hoffmann took care of all of them. Only the janitor of the building across the street was aware of the hiding Jews, and his daughter sometimes gave 9-year-old Ab private lessons. While they were in hiding, Judith de Hond became ill. With the absence of medical treatment, the 74-year-old woman died in the hideout. Since they could not bury her, they had no alternative but to take her corpse, in secret, and leave it in the street during a heavy rain. Ab de Hond recalled the fear the hiding Jews felt when the Germans raided the building searching for Jews. Hoffmann, who used to drink with her guests, often got so drunk that she forgot to lock the door, and the Jews had to sneak down to make sure that she had closed everything at the end of the evening. Sometimes she was so drunk that they had to carry her upstairs and put her to bed. Despite her drinking, her determination to continue hiding the Jews never wavered. After the war the story of the sixteen Jews hidden in the café became known, and a big celebration was held in Hoffmann’s honor. She died soon after the war. The café, under new ownersship, still exists, and the story of the rescue has become a part of its history. On February 8, 2016, Yad Vashem recognized Aloisa Hoffmann as Righteous Among the Nations.