William Arnold Egger
| Geslacht: | Man | |
| Vader: | George Louis Hendrik Egger | |
| Moeder: | Maria Catharina Eliza Robles | |
| Geboren: | 24 Feb 1900 | Paramaribo, Suriname |
| Religie: | Ev. Luthers | |
| Beroep: | stuurman ter koopvaardij | |
| Aantekeningen: | Last Name: Egger First Name: William Arnold Date of Birth: 24/02/1900 Date of death: 02/03/1989 Rescuer's fate: survived Nationality: THE NETHERLANDS Gender: Male Profession: GOVERNMENT CLERK Place during the war: 's Gravenhage, Zuidholland, The Netherlands Rescue Place: 's Gravenhage, Zuidholland, The Netherlands Rescue mode: Hiding File number: File from the Collection of the Righteous Among the Nations Department (M.31.2/12739) When William Arnold Egger (b. 1900) and his Jewish wife, Engelina Jas, arrived in Holland in 1935, they had no idea that a dark and difficult time was waiting for them. William had been born in Suriname. Suriname was at that time still a Dutch colony, and William had been studying in Holland, where he fell in love with Engelina. They married, and their first daughter was born in 1933 in Suriname, where the couple lived for some years. In 1935, however, they decided to build their future in Holland and found a house in The Hague. They soon had a son, and later another child. When the Nazis invaded Holland and started persecuting the Jews, William was horrified. His grandfather had still been a slave in Suriname, and he could not stand the injustice of one people persecuting another. When the Germans started deporting the Jews from Holland, and Engelinas father was arrested too, William dug an underground shelter. Here he hid, among many other Jews (for longer or shorter periods), his wifes relatives who had fled the Germans. Among them were Samson Jas (Engelinas brother) with his wife and daughter, Sara Walvisch-Jas and Dora Jas-Cohen. The five Van Bergen brothers and sisters also found temporary shelter with the Eggers, until they were transferred to another family. Besides hiding people in his home and arranging shelter for them, William took care of other needs of hiding Jews, such as arranging for them to see a doctor or dentist when they needed medical help and supplying food coupons. Samson Jas and his wife were transferred by William Egger to the Van der Tang couple. Reinhardt Wilhelm (b. 1911) and Cornelia Wilhelmina (née Giltay, b. 1911) van der Tang also lived in The Hague and opened their home to the Jas couple, despite all the risks involved. Just how big those risks were became very clear on January 7, 1943. They were all betrayed when a Dutch Jews hunter who collaborated with the Nazis arrived at the Eggers home. William was in his office at that moment, and he was arrested there. His wife, Engelina, was at home with her son and daughter and was arrested because they were Jewish. However, Engelina very bravely managed to let her children escape, and they survived the war in hiding. But Engelina herself was transported to Westerbork and Auschwitz, where she had to undergo medical experiments. She survived the war but was physically and mentally broken. William Egger was interrogated and transferred to Scheveningen, Amersfoort, and Vught. He also survived a terrible time in the camps. Reinhardt Wilhelm van der Tang was not arrested, because he maintained that he did not know that his guests were Jewish. In this way he narrowly escaped imprisonment or worse. But all the Jewish hiders were arrested: the Jas family, Leo Metselaar, and the Van Bergen children. They were sent to concentration camps. None of them survived. On November 27, 2013, Yad Vashem recognized William Arnold Egger and Reinhardt Wilhelm and Cornelia Wilhelmina (Giltay) van der Tang as Righteous Among the Nations. |
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Gezin 1
| Huwelijkspartner: | Alice Marie Oehlers | geb. 28 Aug 1905 overl. 22 Jan 1927 |
| Huwelijk: | 1926 | Paramaribo, Suriname |
Gezin 2
| Huwelijkspartner: | Engelina Jas | geb. 25 Feb 1908 |
| Huwelijk: | 19 Aug 1931 | Amsterdam |