Anna Catharina Op Heij
| Geslacht: | Vrouw | |
| Vader: | Martinus Hubertus Op Heij | |
| Moeder: | Anna Maria Deckers | |
| Geboren: | 20 Feb 1889 | Heythuysen |
| Overleden: | 11 Aug 1964 | Nederweert |
| Aantekeningen: | Last Name: Hermans First Name: Anna Catharina Maiden Name: Ophei Alias: CATO Date of Birth: 20/02/1889 Rescuer's fate: survived Nationality: THE NETHERLANDS Religion: ROMAN CATHOLIC Gender: Female Profession: FARMER Place during the war: Leveroy, Limburg, The Netherlands Rescue Place: Leveroy, Limburg, The Netherlands Rescue mode: Hiding Arranging shelter File number: File from the Collection of the Righteous Among the Nations Department (M.31.2/7122) By August 1943, Abraham Polak, his wife, Henriette (Jettie), their two daughters, Eva and Rosien, and their son, Wim, who was then eight months old, had hidden in six different hiding places after leaving their home in Eindhoven. Finally, Anna Catherina (Cato) Hermans, a widow with eight children, with a farm in Leveroy, Limburg, took them in. Two of her daughters were married, and one of them, Emily, and her husband, Sjaak Timmermans, hid Abraham, Jettie and Wim in their home in Heythuyzen, Limburg, until the fugitives moved to the Willekens family in nearby Ell. Two of Catos sons helped their mother run the farm, one daughter was in a convent, and two other sons were still in school. Gerda helped her mother with the household and looked after Eva and Rosien, who were then aged nine and five. Eva and Rosien attended the Catholic village school under the names Eefje and Sinie van Gastel and went to church on Sundays. Their cover story was that they had come to the farm to recover from malnutrition. When their father left the place where his wife was hiding and came to the farm, his daughters had to call him Uncle Wim for reasons of safety. The girls stayed on the farm for at least six months, and Eva testified that the family did everything they could for them. Their father, who helped out with the farm, paid the modest sum of 20 florins a month towards the girls upkeep. When they were betrayed by one of the villagers, Eva and Rosien were moved to Catos daughter Tina and her husband, Tjen Timmermans, in Nederweert, Limburg. Fifty years later, Eva and Rosien were still in touch with their rescuers. On October 9, 1996, Yad Vashem recognized Anna Catherina Hermans-Ophei as Righteous Among the Nations. |
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Gezin 1
| Huwelijkspartner: | Peter Johannes Hermans | geb. 1887 overl. 7 MEI 1931 |
| Huwelijk: | 11 Nov 1913 | Heythuysen |