Petronella Cornelia van den Bergh
| Geslacht: | Vrouw | |
| Vader: | Gerardus Cornelis van den Bergh | |
| Moeder: | Petronella Catharina Wilhelmina Donsen | |
| Geboren: | 16 MRT 1919 | Vreeswijk |
| Overleden: | 13 Feb 1944 | Haaren (Nb) |
| Beroep: | hulp in de huishouding | |
| Aantekeningen: | Bergh van den Petronella (1919 - 1944 ) Personal Information Last Name: Bergh van den First Name: Petronella Cornelia Maiden Name: Nel Date of Birth: 16/03/1919 Date of death: 13/02/1944 Rescuer's fate: imprisoned murdered Cause of Death: SHOT Nationality: THE NETHERLANDS Gender: Female Profession: BOOKSHOP ASSISTANT Place during the war: Rijssen, Overijssel, The Netherlands Haaren, Camp, The Netherlands Scheveningen, Zuidholland, The Netherlands Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands Rescue Place: Rijssen, Overijssel, The Netherlands Rescue mode: Hiding Arranging shelter File number: File from the Collection of the Righteous Among the Nations Department (M.31.2/10322) Commemoration Date of Recognition: 15/08/2004 Righteous Commemorated with Tree/Wall of Honor: Wall of Honor Ceremony organized by Israeli diplomatic delegation in: The Hague, Netherlands Rescued Persons Souget, Frits Domb, Freibrun, Meri, Miri Freibrun, Emi Groen, Jettie Rescue Story Bergh van den, Petronella Cornelia Petronella (Nel) van den Bergh, b.1919, in Vreeswijk (prov. Utrecht), was working in the Jewish-owned Rooselaar science bookstore in Utrecht, when the war broke out. Soon the store was taken over by a German administrator, and Nel consequently stopped working there. During that period, Nel got engaged to Rachmad Koesoemobroto, a law student of Dutch Indies origin, (today, Indonesia) who was ousted from the university since he refused to sign the declaration of allegiance to the German occupier. From her work in the bookstore, Nel had come to know many Jews. When over time she became aware of the restrictions imposed on them, and in the summer of 1942 learned about the onset of the deportations to the East, she became active in helping to find hiding addresses for many. In the spring of 1943, two Freibrun sisters, nine-year-old Meri (later, Miri Domb), and her five-year-old sister Emi were taken to a vacant summer bungalow in the woods near Rijssen (prov. Overijssel), which Nel had access to. Other Jewish children were also taken into hiding there, among them Jettie Groen, and six-year-old Frits Souget. Many others were given temporary shelter by her and assisted by her fiancé. Because of the relatively open character of the hiding place in the woods, it was decided to send some of the children to safer havens. Thus, in the late summer of that year, both Meri and her sister were moved elsewhere, as was Frits Souget. A few days later, when parents of one of the children being hidden by Nel were arrested, the hiding place was revealed and Nel and the remaining children were all arrested. The children were sent to Westerbork and subsequently deported. On the way to the Oranje Hotel, the infamous prison in Scheveningen, Nel jumped the train, but was injured and taken to a hospital. After recovery she was still taken to the Scheveningen prison and later to the Vught (Herzogenbusch) concentration camp, where she was executed on February 13, 1944. After the war, the Freibrun sisters immigrated to Israel. Only recently did they learn details about this rescue story and established contact with members of the van den Bergh family. On August 15, 2004, Yad Vashem recognized Petronella Cornelia van den Bergh as Righteous Among the Nations. |
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