Gerrit Hendrik Hofs

Geslacht:	Man
Vader:	Gerrit Willem Hofs
Moeder:	Theodora Lambarta Vreeman
Geboren:	1887	Wisch
Beroep:		landbouwer
Aantekeningen:	Last Name: Hofs First Name: Gerrit Hendrik Date of Birth: 21/02/1887 Date of death: 24/09/1972 Rescuer's fate: imprisoned survived Nationality: THE NETHERLANDS Gender: Male Profession: farm manager Place during the war: Varsseveld, Gelderland, The Netherlands Rescue Place: Varsseveld, Gelderland, The Netherlands Rescue mode: Hiding File number: File from the Collection of the Righteous Among the Nations Department (M.31.2/11250) The Levy family, father Philip (15.8.1899 – 7.7.1974), mother Elwine (née Meyer) and their son, Joop, born in 1935, lived in the village of Varsseveld (prov. Gelderland), in the rural eastern part of the Netherlands, very close to the German border. Philip was a cattle merchant, and as such had many non-Jewish clients in the region. By the end of September 1942, with the first round-ups of Jews in the eastern parts of the country to be sent to camps in “the East”, the Levys , decided to go into hiding. They realized that they would have more of a chance to find places by splitting up the family unit. Philip turned first to his acquaintance, Gerrit Hofs. The Hofses, who were farmers in the same village, had two grown children, born in 1919 and 1925. As all were involved in resistance activities in the area, taking in Philip meant an extra danger to all, beyond the fact that everyone in the village knew Philip. Yet as he needed an immediate shelter, they were willing to take the personal risk. Philip had to stay out of sight at all times, as no one was to know about his presence on the Hofs farm. For Elwyne and son Joop, a hiding address was found with Arend and Harmina Ebbers, from the nearby village of Dinteloo, also very close to the German border. Half a year into hiding, however, Philip Levy felt that the extra danger that his presence brought to the Hofs family, was too much to bear and he asked if he would be able to join his wife and son with the Ebbers family. The Ebbers couple reacted positively, and Philip was moved to their home as well. The Ebbers couple had three grown children. The three Levys were given a small room between the cowshed and the pigsty in the back of the living quarters, in order not to be seen or heard by any visitors. They were not to go outside at any time. Once, when seven-year-old Joop, for whom staying inside at all times was extremely difficult to bear, was desperate for some air and wanted to go outside for just some minutes, son Jan Ebbers put him in a big sack and carried him around on his back. Philip Levy wanted to participate in the expenses for three extra people. “If we all reach liberation safely, I will let you know”, was the Ebbers answer. With the increasing house searches in the area, where resistance activities were known to the German authorities, a special night-time hiding area was prepared for the three Levys inside the haystack in back of the farm. The elder Ebbers son, 20-year-old Jan, who was ordered to work in Germany but refused to report, also hid there when there were rumors of an upcoming search. In March 1944, the villagers were ordered to billet German soldiers on their farms. At that point, the Levys had to stay in their hide-out in the haystack, day and night. Only between one and three at night, when the soldiers were asleep, were they allowed to come out for some minutes to breath fresh air. During those few hours, one of the Ebbers came to give them food for the next day. With a major German search of the area in March 1944, Gerrit Hofs and son Wim were arrested. Gerrit was released after some weeks, but Wim was taken to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp, where he perished on March 10, 1945. In April 1945, the area was liberated. The Levys had survived and again Philip Levy wanted to repay their expenses. He reminded Ebbers of his response earlier in the war, but now he was told, “The fact that both your family as well as mine all survived is enough of a reward. More I do not want.” On February 3, 2008, Yad Vashem recognized Arend Jan Ebbers and Harmina Johanna Ebbers-Veldhuis as well as Gerrit W Hofs and Johanna Willemina Hofs-Schuurman as Righteous Among the Nations.

Gezin 1

Huwelijkspartner:	Johanna Willemina Schuurman	geb. 1895 overl. 23 Feb 1946
Huwelijk:	11 MEI 1916	Wisch
Kinderen:
	Willem Hofs	geb. 25 MEI 1919 overl. 10 MRT 1945