Willem Haverhals

Geslacht: Man
Vader: Eijmert Haverhals
Moeder: Hendrika Treffers
Geboren: 16 Juli 1869 Vrijhoeve-Capelle
Religie: Ned. Hervormd
Aantekeningen: Last Name: Haverhals
First Name: Willem
Rescuer's fate: died (rescuer)
Nationality: THE NETHERLANDS
Religion: CALVINIST
Gender: Male
Place during the war: Sprang Capelle, Noordbrabant, The Netherlands
Rescue Place: Sprang Capelle, Noordbrabant, The Netherlands
Rescue mode: Hiding
File number: File from the Collection of the Righteous Among the Nations Department (M.31.2/9582)
Willem and Adriana Haverhals, both in their seventies, lived on the family farm in the village of Sprang Capelle (prov. North Brabant), with three of their ten adult children as well as one of their grandchildren. The family was strictly Calvinist, in a preponderantly Roman Catholic region. When approached in August 1942, to take two very young Jewish children into hiding on their farm, the Haverhals family did not hesitate for a moment. And so, four-year-old Barend Velleman and his two year-old sister Constance from Amsterdam arrived shortly afterwards. Their parents managed to find a hiding address for themselves close-by, hoping that they would be able to visit their children from time to time. However, soon thereafter, in September 1942, while on their way to visit their children, they were betrayed by a local policeman. They were arrested, deported and did not survive. The Velleman children, now to be called Baars, were introduced as orphans from bombed-out Rotterdam. Barend, who learned to answer to the name Bob, was able to move freely around the farm, and was even able to go to kindergarten. The children were warmly embraced by the entire extended family. Granddaughter Haverhals was a big sister for the children. At night they shared sleeping quarters with the younger Haverhals. Since many German soldiers were billeted in the area, the farm was frequented by some of them looking for food. In such cases, Barend was instructed to immediately hide in a dry well on the farm premises. Also after the death of Willem Haverhals in April 1943, the children were taken care of by all the remaining members of the family. The Velleman children stayed with the Haverhals until the liberation of the area in October 1944. As their parents had not survived, they stayed another full year with the Haverhals, until they were taken to a relative of their mother. The Vellemans stayed in close touch with the Haverhals family in the years thereafter.
On December 20, 2001, Yad Vashem recognized Willem Haverhals and Adriana Haverhals-Groeneveld, as Righteous Among the Nations.

Gezin 1

Huwelijkspartner: Adriana Groeneveld geb. 29 OKT 1874
Huwelijk: 4 MEI 1897 Capelle
Kinderen:
  Johanna Haverhals Male geb. 16 MRT 1910 overl. 1 OKT 1911
  Willem Haverhals Male geb. 5 MEI 1916
  Hendrik Haverhals Male geb. 21 OKT 1908
  Marinus Haverhals Male geb. 4 OKT 1904
  Eimert Haverhals Male geb. 26 OKT 1901 overl. 18 Dec 1901
  Hendrika Haverhals Male geb. 26 Aug 1897
  Pieter Haverhals Male geb. 29 Apr 1899
  Eimert Haverhals Male geb. 5 Dec 1902
  Maria Haverhals Male geb. 15 Sept 1906
  Adriaan Haverhals Male geb. 12 Feb 1912