Helena Gertudis Maessen
| Geslacht: | Vrouw | |
| Vader: | Hendricus Hubertus Maessen | |
| Moeder: | Margaretha Essers | |
| Geboren: | 13 Nov 1897 | Maasniel |
| Overleden: | 23 Dec 1988 | |
| Aantekeningen: | Personal Information Last Name: Ass van First Name: Helena Gertrudis Maiden Name: Maessen Date of Birth: 13/11/1887 Date of death: 23/12/1988 Rescuer's fate: survived Nationality: THE NETHERLANDS Gender: Female Profession: FARMERS WIFE Rescue Place during the war: De Weerd, Limburg, The Netherlands Rescue Place: De Weerd, Limburg, The Netherlands Rescue mode: Hiding File number: File from the Collection of the Righteous Among the Nations Department (M.31.2/4416) Commemoration Date of Recognition: 24/06/1990 Righteous Commemorated with Tree/Wall of Honor: Wall of Honor Ceremony held in Yad Vashem: Yes Rescued Persons Weyl, Gertrude Citroen, Karel Citroen, Lise Weyl, Thea Schlejen Rescue Story Ass, van Joseph Antonius Albertus & Helena Gertrudis (Maessen) Albertus (Albert) and Helena van Ass lived on a farm in De Weerd, a small village near Roermond, Limburg, with their four children aged between five and 16. Remote farms were ideal hiding places---they were both isolated and had easy access to food sources. The van Ass family hid several Jews and also Allied pilots during the course of the war. Among the Jews they sheltered were Karel and Lise Citroen, Lises mother, Gertrude, and sister, Thea Weyl. The family also hid Michiel Schlejen, the youngest son of a family from Maastricht. Michiel was eight years old when it became necessary for him and his family to go into hiding, dispersing in September 1942. The parents were hidden in Brussels and the children scattered in various safe hideouts in Limburg. Michiel stayed with the van Asses until November 1943, when the German police raided the van Asses farm. Albert van Ass and Karel Citroen were arrested and imprisoned but Karel managed to escape after a short time. Albert, however, was sent to the camps in Holland and then Germany, from where he was liberated only at the end of the war, by which time he was a physical and mental wreck. On the night of the raid, Gretha van Ass, one of Alberts daughters, transferred Michiel to a new hiding place. From this address, A.H. Gielens* took Michiel across the border to Brussels a month or so later, where he was reunited with his parents and grandmother. This reunion was not to last though. Michiel, his brother, and his sister spent the closing months of the war hiding in different places in Belgium, protected by the Catholic clergy. Despite all their wanderings, the Schlejen family survived the war, partly due to the selfless assistance of Albert van Ass and his family. On June 24, 1990, Yad Vashem recognized Joseph Antonius Albertus van Ass and his wife, Helena Gertrudis van Ass-Maessen, as Righteous Among the Nations. |
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Gezin 1
| Huwelijkspartner: | Joseph Antonius Albertus van Ass | geb. 4 MRT 1899 overl. 28 OKT 1957 |
| Huwelijk: | 20 Apr 1925 | Maasniel |