Pieter Jacob Arts
| Geslacht: | Man | |
| Vader: | Gerard Arts | |
| Moeder: | Maria Gertrudis van Enckevort | |
| Geboren: | 21 Apr 1892 | Sevenum |
| Overleden: | 15 Juni 1985 | |
| Beroep: | landbouwer | |
| Aantekeningen: | Personal Information Last Name: Arts First Name: Piet Date of Birth: 21/04/1892 Date of death: 15/06/1985 Rescuer's fate: survived underground movement member Nationality: THE NETHERLANDS Gender: Male Profession: FARMER Organization/ Religious order: Westerweel Groep Rescue Place during the war: Sevenum, Limburg, The Netherlands Rescue Place: Sevenum, Limburg, The Netherlands Grubbenvorst, Limburg, The Netherlands Westerbork, Camp, The Netherlands Rescue mode: Hiding Arranging shelter Other File number: File from the Collection of the Righteous Among the Nations Department (M.31.2/1173) Commemoration Date of Recognition: 22/03/1977 Righteous Commemorated with Tree/Wall of Honor: Tree Ceremony held in Yad Vashem: Yes Rescued Persons Prague, Chaya Paz, Dov Nussbaum, Yaari, Sophie, Schulamit Ticho, Kettner, Lilly Cohen, Rivka Rescue Story Arts, Piet J. From 1940, the first year of the war, Piet Arts, a farmer from Sevenum, Limburg, was the organizer of the underground group that operated in the areas of Sevenum and Grubbenvorst. Due to the efforts of Miss Eugenie Boutet*, Piet later affiliated with the Westerweel* group and became their resident member in Sevenum. Over and above this commitment, Piet also ran a covert operation, hiding prisoners previously smuggled out of the Westerbork camp with families in Sevenum. In those days, Sevenum was a remote village with a population of only 3,000 inhabitants and the villagers were especially active in underground operations. It has been estimated that about 300 individuals found a safe haven there during the war. Piet coordinated the anti-German Resistance activities of the entire village. He collaborated with the underground in matters of registration, with the police who conspired not to give out information, and with officials of the postal service, who also agreed not to betray the activists and their plans. In 1938, Viennese-born Lilly Kettner (later Ticho), born in 1923, arrived in Holland on a Kindertransport. Initially, she worked in the crèche opposite the Hollandsche Schouwburg, from where hundreds of children were smuggled out to safe hideouts. Lilly, however, was deported to Westerbork, but escaped and, with Piets assistance, managed to hide in Sevenum. She was hidden for a while in the chicken coops on Piets farm. From this haven she was able to listen to BBC radio broadcasts in Dutch. Owing to Piets tireless and selfless efforts to save lives, Dov Paz, Rivka Cohen, Ruth Meyer, Rachel Lavie, Chaya Prague, Max Bischburg, Sophie Nussbaum (later Shulamith Yaari), the Winter family, and many more were spared the atrocities of the Nazi occupation. Sometime between late 1943 and early 1944, Piet himself was forced to go into hiding after it became apparent that the German police were pursuing him. After the war, Piet was honored by the underground movement in Holland as well as by General Eisenhower, Deputy Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force. On March 22, 1977, Yad Vashem recognized Piet Arts as Righteous Among the Nations. |
|