Harmanus van den Brink

Geslacht: Man
Vader: Albertus van den Brink
Moeder: Gerritje Brouwer
Geboren: 8 Feb 1909 Het Loo, Apeldoorn
Religie: Ger. Kerk
Beroep: loodgieter
Aantekeningen: Last Name: Brink van den
First Name: Herman
Rescuer's fate: survived
Nationality: THE NETHERLANDS
Gender: Male
Place during the war: Apeldoorn, Gelderland, The Netherlands
Rescue Place: Apeldoorn, Gelderland, The Netherlands
Rescue mode: Hiding
File number: File from the Collection of the Righteous Among the Nations Department (M.31.2/1566)
In May 1943, Ilse van Engel and her family were still living in Amsterdam. Ilse’s neighbors, with the help of the Dutch underground, obtained false identity papers for Ilse and her family and then helped her leave Amsterdam for Apeldoorn, Gelderland. There, after hiding at several addresses, she was taken in September 1943 by Aart van den Brink, an active member of the underground, to the home of his brother and sister-in-law, Herman and Marie van den Brink. Herman, Marie, and their two children, Ap and Bep, aged six and eight, respectively, lived in a modest home on the Zwollsche Binnenweg in Apeldoorn. The house had two rooms downstairs and two upstairs and a kitchen and toilet. Herman and Marie gave Ilse their room and moved into the attic while the children’s beds were moved onto the landing. Ilse spent the days in her room. After dark Ilse often joined the van den Brinks for a meal, albeit a meager one. She spent time with them as they sat around the warm stove and read from the Bible. Herman and Marie were deeply religious people; Ilse’s religion was never discussed and they never tried to persuade her to convert. The only running water in the van den Brinks’ home was in the kitchen. The family used a public bathhouse and since this was too risky for Ilse she did not bathe or shower during her entire time in hiding. At all times Herman and Marie were conscious of the possibility and danger of betrayal. The van den Brink children were told that “Aunt Jo” had come to the countryside from the hunger-stricken city and that they should not tell anybody about her. Herman and Marie’s parents and siblings were all involved with the underground and knew about Ilse’s presence. Towards the end of the war, in 1945, the van den Brinks’ neighbors were told that Ilse was an evacuee from Arnhem. Ilse stayed with the van den Brinks until May 1945. Thanks to them, she was spared the fate that befell so many of her Jewish compatriots.
On February 27, 1979, Yad Vashem recognized Herman van den Brink and his wife, Marie van den Brink and his brother Aart van den Brink as Righteous Among the Nations.

Gezin 1

Huwelijkspartner: Maria Broekhof geb. 13 Sept 1914
Huwelijk: XXXX onbekend
Kinderen:
  Elisabeth van den Brink Male geb. 22 MRT 1937
  Albertus van den Brink Male geb. 1 Sept 1935