Johannes Alta

Geslacht: Man
Vader: Johannes Alta
Moeder: Hendrika Cornelia Schoor
Geboren: 16 Jan 1917 Buiksloot
Overleden: 18 Dec 2002
Aantekeningen: Personal Information
Last Name: Alta
First Name: Johannes
Alias: HAN
Date of Birth: 16/01/1916
Rescuer's fate: survived
Nationality: THE NETHERLANDS
Gender: Male
Profession: DRAFTSMAN
Rescue
Place during the war: Amerongen, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Rescue Place: Amerongen, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Rescue mode: Hiding
File number: File from the Collection of the Righteous Among the Nations Department (M.31.2/3275)
Commemoration
Date of Recognition: 10/10/1985
Righteous Commemorated with Tree/Wall of Honor: Wall of Honor
Rescued Persons
Oosten van, Max
Nerden, Loek
Lopes, Cardozo, Ben
Lopes
Rescue Story
Alta, Johannes
Johannes Alta, known as Han for short, was a draftsman specializing in botanical drawing and also a member of the Dutch Youth Association of Naturalists. For three years Han devoted himself to the task of saving Jewish lives. In 1942, when Han was 25 years old, an acquaintance of his, 19-year-old Ben Lopes Cardozo, a Jewish member of the Young Naturalists, visited Han and told him that he had received a summons to report to a labor camp. Ben asked if Han would hide him in his cottage and he agreed. Han lived in a four-room wooden cottage, paying a small rent and drawing to make a living. The cottage, located on an estate near Amerongen, Utrecht, had at various times served as a retreat for artists and poets, as well as being a base for young naturalists conducting fieldwork. Han had made many friends through the Dutch Youth Association of Naturalists, including some Jews. In the autumn of 1942, another naturalist, Max van Oosten, joined Han’s “household.” The number of people living in his cottage had already been augmented by the addition of Loek Nerden, a ten-year-old Jewish boy from Amsterdam. Later on, Han also housed Ben’s mother, as well as several others. Han’s cottage was given the nickname “Kolland” (“Holland with a difference”).Han was supposed to have been living alone, but since he required food at various times for up to six or seven people, his secret would be hard to keep. His activities were known only to a small number of local residents and to his parents. One of the local farmers supplied milk and some food and Han continued to eke out a living from his drawing. Some of the people he sheltered had brought a little money with them, but Han took nothing from them for personal gain.
On October 10,1985, Yad Vashem recognized Johannes Alta as Righteous Among the Nations.

Gezin 1

Huwelijkspartner: Susanna Dorothea Gruijs geb. 22 Jan 1922
Huwelijk: 9 Aug 1945 Amersfoort