One night, Klaas and Pietje van der Meulen of Purmerland, North Holland, were asked to shelter some Jewish men by a man who ran a business next to Leo Hess’s North Amsterdam paint factory. It was Leo Hess who needed a hiding place, as did Benno Hess and a Mr. Frenkel. The van der Meulens took the men in on several occasions until the raids in Amsterdam had passed. Mr. Frenkel never returned, but a friend of Benno’s, Kurt Plaut, from Kassel in Germany, turned up and asked whether he could stay there for longer. Since the van der Meulens’ son, Chiel, had left home to take a teaching job in Betuwe, Gelderland, there was an empty room. Later, Leo Hess, who was no longer safe in his hiding place, also needed a permanent shelter. The two refugees shared the same room and could only come out at night for a breath of fresh air. The van der Meulens built them a hidden closet to hide in during house searches. During the hunger winter of 1944--1945, Chiel came home and was appointed as a local food distributor. He was able to obtain extra sugar beet occasionally. Kurt left in March 1945 to hide with Pietje’s sister’s family, the Tuiningas*, in Purmerend, North Holland, until the liberation six weeks later. During the war, members of the extended van der Meulen family also helped to hide friends and family members of the two Jewish refugees. The relationship between the families remained warm after the war.
On October 25, 1998, Yad Vashem recognized Klaas van der Meulen and his wife, Pietje van der Meulen-Postma, as Righteous Among the Nations.
Hij is getrouwd met Pietje Postma.
Zij zijn getrouwd op 12 februari 1916 te Baarderadiel, Friesland, Nederland, hij was toen 28 jaar oud.Bron 2
Klaas van der Meulen | ||||||||||||||||||
1916 | ||||||||||||||||||
Pietje Postma |