Petrus Johannes Heijmans

Geslacht: Man
Vader: Augustus Heijmans
Moeder: Anna Catharina Bosschaert
Geboren: 27 OKT 1891 Clinge
Beroep: werkman
Aantekeningen: Last Name: Heymans
First Name: Petrus Johannes
Alias: PIET
Date of Birth: 27/10/1891
Date of death: 01/06/1987
Rescuer's fate: survived
Nationality: THE NETHERLANDS
Gender: Male
Profession: CITY OFFICIAL
Place during the war: Bussum, Noordholland, The Netherlands
Rescue Place: Bussum, Noordholland, The Netherlands
Rescue mode: Hiding
File number: File from the Collection of the Righteous Among the Nations Department (M.31.2/1340)
In June 1942, Betty van Essen was living in the Jewish quarter of Amsterdam. In 1941, her brother had been taken to Mauthausen, where he died. Betty was 18 years old at the time and her family was not well off. She decided to go into hiding and hid at several addresses before arriving at the home of the Heymans family in Bussum, North Holland, in September 1942. By the time she arrived at the Heymanses, Betty was already in possession of false papers and everyone was told that she was a poor relative with divorced parents who had been sent to live with her “aunt.” Petrus (Piet) Heymans worked for the sanitation department of the municipality of Bussum. He was also active in the Resistance. Het had agreed to hide Jews only if they were too poor to pay. During the time she was hiding with them, there were no other Jews there. Piet and Griet treated Betty like a daughter and Betty developed a particularly good relationship with Piet. She admired him and they often discussed philosophical questions. Piet found work for Betty as a cleaning woman in the village, thus giving her something to do to help her pass the time. Three months before the end of the war, when the food shortage in the Netherlands had become critical, Piet decided to go out and search for food in the farming areas in the east of the country. Betty accompanied him and on one of these trips she decided to remain in the east in order to stop being a burden on the Heymanses. She found a farming family willing to hide her. After the liberation, when it became known that Betty’s parents had perished, Piet rode on his bicycle to pick Betty up and bring her back to Bussum. After the war they remained in close contact, often visiting each other.
On May 31, 1978, Yad Vashem recognized Petrus Johannes Heymans and his wife, Griet Heymans-Vink, as Righteous Among the Nations.

Gezin 1

Huwelijkspartner: Giertje Vink geb. 2 Juni 1895 overl. 26 OKT 1950
Huwelijk: 8 OKT 1913 Amsterdam