Derk van Dijken
| Geslacht: | Man | |
| Vader: | Bertus van Dijken | |
| Moeder: | Hendrikje de Jonge | |
| Geboren: | 14 Nov 1906 | Odoorn |
| Aantekeningen: | Last Name: Dijken van First Name: Dirk Date of Birth: 14/11/1906 Rescuer's fate: survived Nationality: THE NETHERLANDS Religion: CALVINIST Gender: Male Profession: FARMER Place during the war: Nieuwlande, Drenthe, The Netherlands Rescue Place: Nieuwlande, Drenthe, The Netherlands Rescue mode: Hiding File number: File from the Collection of the Righteous Among the Nations Department (M.31.2/1148) Dirk and Pietertje van Dijken were farmers in Nieuwlande, Drenthe. Dirk belonged to the KP. At different times, the van Dijkens sheltered five fugitives, four of whom were Jews and the fifth, a cousin evading forced labor in Germany. In the middle of the night of November 28, 1944, Dutch SS forces from the nearby village of Hollandscheveld broke into their home shouting and firing guns. Dirk and Pietertje were asleep but they had planned an escape option in advance. As soon as they heard the commotion, Dirk fled to the nearby storage shed with some clothes. Once there, he hid in the straw. Meanwhile, Pietertje faced the intruders. When she was asked about the whereabouts of her husband, the hidden fugitives, and arms, she replied that her husband was out and that she knew nothing about fugitives or hidden weapons. Pietertje was then forcefully removed from her home and an intense house search was carried out in which two fugitives, a radio, and other equipment were discovered. The Dutch SS decided to take the cousin, Mooibroek, to a forced labor camp and the Jew they found, De Groot, was to be imprisoned. Before being carted away, he was instructed to wash himself in ice water but instead he threw the bucket at the SS men and ran away. De Groot fled through the canals of Nieuwlande and soon reached a little house at the edge of the village, where the Schonewille* family hid him. Back on the van DijkensÂ’ farm, Pietertje pushed Mooibroek out a back door when the intrudersÂ’ backs were turned and he too ran away. The SS arrested Pietertje and she was taken to the Hollandscheveld School, which had been turned into a detention center. From there she was transferred to the Assen prison, from where she managed to get a message out to her husband telling him not to turn himself in and that she was fine. Pietertje was detained for five weeks, during which time she was interrogated twice. On June 9, 1983, Yad Vashem recognized Dirk van Dijken and his wife, Pietertje van Dijken-van der Vinne, as Righteous Among the Nations. |
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Gezin 1
| Huwelijkspartner: | Pietertje van der Vinne | geb. 20 Juli 1911 |
| Huwelijk: | XXXX | onbekend |