Hester Juliana Octavia van Lennep

Geslacht: Vrouw
Vader: Karel van Lennep
Moeder: Anna Elize Homans
Geboren: 8 Juli 1916 Amsterdam
Overleden: 1 Jan 2000 Doesburg
Beroep: masseuse, eigenaar Instituut voor Huidverzorging
Aantekeningen: Personal Information
Last Name: Baracs
First Name: Hester
Juliana
Octavia
Maiden Name: Lennep van
Date of Birth: 08/07/1916
Date of death: 01/01/2000
Rescuer's fate: survived
Nationality: THE NETHERLANDS
Religion: CALVINIST
Gender: Female
Profession:
Organization/ Religious order: Trouw Groep
Rescue
Place during the war: Amsterdam, Noordholland, The Netherlands
Amstelveen, Noordholland, The Netherlands
Rescue Place: Amsterdam, Noordholland, The Netherlands
Rescue mode: Arranging shelter
Other
Commemoration
Date of Recognition: 22/02/1981
Righteous Commemorated with Tree/Wall of Honor: Tree
Ceremony held in Yad Vashem: Yes
Rescued Persons
Frank, Peter
Michaelis, Ruth
Rescue Story
Baracs-van Lennep, Hester Juliana Octavia
Hester van Lennep was the eighth child of an old aristocratic Amsterdam family of Reformed Christians, with seven much older siblings. During a vacation in Germany in the 1930s, she and her mother came face to face with Nazi propaganda. Hester’s sister and her two grown-up sons were the key figures in the CS-6 Resistance group, named for their home address, Corellistraat 6. It was through them that around Christmas 1942 Hester met 42-year-old Sándor Baracs, a Hungarian Jew and one of the first Resistance workers. Before they met Hester had helped a Jewish boy named Peter Frank find a place to hide. Hester and Sándor fell in love and decided to devote themselves to hiding Jewish children. Hester ran a beauty salon in Amsterdam, and the building became a place of transit for dozens of Jewish children who were then taken to hiding places by Hester or one of her associates. In early 1943 Hester and Sándor were approached by a large number of desperate parents asking them to save their children. In May 1943 Hester and Sándor made contact with Dr. Gesina van der Molen*, a member of the editorial staff of the illegal newspaper Trouw. Gesina knew of a large number of safe places where children could be hidden. Hester and Sándor joined the Trouw-group. Together with Gesina and other people, including Mien Bouwman (Vooren*), who accompanied many children to their hiding places, they arranged safe houses for between 80 and 100 children. Pauline van Waasdijk*, Hester’s partner in the beauty salon and her best friend, played a very important part in these activities. When her nephews were taken into custody in early August 1943, this placed Hester in danger and her fiancé Sándor urged her to go into hiding. Hester wanted to delay this for as long as possible in order to continue her Resistance work. But the following day she went into hiding in Amstelveen. On that same day, the Sipo raided her beauty salon. Shortly afterwards she heard that both her nephews had been executed. Their father died in a concentration camp. Being in hiding restricted Hester’s activities but she continued to do what she could. Hester and Sándor were married in 1944 in the Tienhoven Town Hall in Utrecht, whose incumbent mayor had been appointed by Queen Wilhelmina. After the war many of the children they had saved came back to visit the Baracs family.
On February 22,1981, Yad Vashem recognized Hester Juliana Octavia Baracs-van Lennep as Righteous Among the Nations.

Gezin 1

Huwelijkspartner: Sándor Baracs geb. 17 Nov 1900 overl. 5 Aug 2002
Huwelijk: 20 Jan 1944 Tienhoven