Antonie Aart de Heus
| Geslacht: | Man | |
| Vader: | Antonie de Heus | |
| Moeder: | Adriana de Wit | |
| Geboren: | 19 MEI 1887 | Eck en Wiel, Buren |
| Overleden: | 27 Apr 1974 | Maurik |
| Aantekeningen: | Last Name: Heus de First Name: Anton Date of Birth: 19/05/1887 Date of death: 01/04/1974 Nationality: THE NETHERLANDS Religion: PROTESTANT Gender: Male Profession: PEASANT Place during the war: Eck en Wiel, Gelderland, The Netherlands Rescue Place: Eck en Wiel, Gelderland, The Netherlands Rescue mode: Hiding File number: File from the Collection of the Righteous Among the Nations Department (M.31.2/10249) Anton and Johanna de Heus were farmers in the tiny village of Eck en Wielin in the Betuwe area (prov. Gelderland), where they managed a small family farm with their four children, the oldest being only 12 years old. Living conditions on the farm were very basic and they had trouble making ends meet. Anton was a sickly man, and thus they welcomed a helper in the middle of 1944, in the person of 17-year-old Walter Schwinger. Walter, a German Jewish refugee had fled to the Netherlands after the Kristallnacht pogrom in November 1938. When he could not join his host family in hiding after a call-up for "work in the East", he went to a large farm, presenting himself as a farmhand, where he had to work beyond his physical strength. In the middle of 1944, he left and arrived at the nearby de Heus farm, again presenting himself as a farmhand. Initially, Walter, by now answering to the name Joop and speaking Dutch with a German accent, did not reveal the fact that he was Jewish. However, his earlier employer, angry about the fact that Walter had left, informed the de Heuses and even threatened to turn him in to the German authorities. Anton and Johanna de Heus decided to keep Walter on their farm even after they learned his real identity. The boy was accepted as a member of the family, and shared in the little they had. He soon felt at home with them. In November 1944, Germans came to the farm demanding a horse and wagon with a driver to take soldiers to a nearby post. With Anton de Heus ill, and the oldest boy only 12 years old, it was Walter who needed to go. The German officer, noticing Walter's fluent German, suspected that he was a Jew, a feeling reinforced by the fact that Walter had no valid "Aryan" identity papers. Only thanks to the intervention of a local clerk, once at the nearby post, was Walter let go and allowed to return to the de Heus farm. Soon after, the Germans flooded the area between the rivers Lek (Nederrijn) and Waal, including the de Heus farm, in order to stop the advancing Allied forces. Everyone needed to evacuate the area and the de Heus family was taken in by other farmers, who initially refused to take Walter as well, suspecting that he was a Jew. Only after serious arguing did de Heus manage to convince the farmers to also take Walter. A few weeks later, they were able to return to their own farm that was now totally ruined by water damage. Walter stayed with the de Heus family until the liberation of the area in May 1945. He then joined relatives who had found refuge in England. Walter stayed in touch with the de Heus family thereafter. On May 2, 2004, Yad Vashem recognized Anton de Heus and Johanna Heus de-Verkerk, as Righteous Among the Nations. |
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Gezin 1
| Huwelijkspartner: | Johanna Cornelia Verkerk | geb. 9 Juli 1902 overl. 7 Apr 1989 |
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