Johannes Hendrikus de Geest

Geslacht: Man
Vader: Johannes Hendrikus de Geest
Moeder: Derkje Spaan
Geboren: 14 Sept 1909 Arnhem
Beroep: schilder
Aantekeningen: Last Name: Geest de
First Name: Johannes Hendrikus
Alias: JO
Date of Birth: 14/09/1909
Date of death: 16/01/1989
Rescuer's fate: survived
Nationality: THE NETHERLANDS
Gender: Male
Profession: PAINTER
Place during the war: Arnhem, Gelderland, The Netherlands
Rescue Place: Arnhem, Gelderland, The Netherlands
Rescue mode: Hiding
File number: File from the Collection of the Righteous Among the Nations Department (M.31.2/516)
Joseph Walvisch, born in 1920, was working as a salesman for a clothing firm in Amsterdam. He was living with his parents and engaged to Elisabeth Turk. In 1942, Joseph’s parents were seized in a razzia and deported. Joseph managed to escape, finding temporary refuge with the Turk family, who had not been persecuted until then because Anna Turk, Elizabeth’s mother was not Jewish. Using their home as a base, Joseph set about searching for a permanent hideout. Through a former colleague of his father’s, Joseph located Johannes (Jo) and Josephien de Geest of Arnhem, Gelderland. Jo, a painter employed on building sites, and his wife were extremely anti-German, as were the other members of their family (Jo de Geest’s brother had been executed by the Germans for underground sabotage), and Joseph was welcomed into their home. Jo and Josephien hid Joseph for two years. Despite the danger to their own lives they wholeheartedly believed that people in such dire straits deserved to be helped. During his time in hiding, Joseph, who had an especially distinct Jewish appearance, never left the house. Danger was always close by because a German military base was located just down the street. Only Jo’s sister and brother-in-law knew they were hiding a Jew. Elisabeth Turk, still working in Amsterdam, was able to provide some financial assistance occasionally, which was a welcome addition to the de Geests’ modest income. In September 1944, during the Battle of Arnhem, the Germans ordered the de Geest family to evacuate their home. They wanted to take Joseph with them. Joseph, however, did not wish to further endanger their lives and fled to his fiancée’s home in Amsterdam on a bike. Since there were no Jews left in Amsterdam at this stage of the war, Joseph remained there in relative safety until the liberation on May 5, 1945.
On January 2, 1969, Yad Vashem recognized Johannes Hendrikus de Geest and his wife, Josephien de Geest-Klumpers, as Righteous Among the Nations.

Gezin 1

Huwelijkspartner: Johanna Klumpers geb. 30 Juni 1913
Huwelijk: 1939 Arnhem