Hermanus van der Horst

Geslacht: Man
Vader: Alexander Pedro van der Horst
Moeder: Elizabeth van Woudenberg
Geboren: 6 Juni 1899 Maartensdijk
Overleden: 29 Nov 1986
Aantekeningen: Last Name: Horst van der
First Name: Hermanus
Rescuer's fate: survived
Nationality: THE NETHERLANDS
Gender: Male
Profession: ASSISTANT STATION MASTER
Place during the war: Zaltbommel, Gelderland, The Netherlands
Rescue Place: Zaltbommel, Gelderland, The Netherlands ; Geldermalsen, Gelderland, The Netherlands ; Bunnik, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Rescue mode: Hiding
File number: File from the Collection of the Righteous Among the Nations Department (M.31.2/8210)
Before the war, Eduard (Ed) Wolff's mother had divorced his Jewish father and married a non-Jew. At the beginning of the war, she joined the Lutheran Church and had her son baptized. Although the family lived as Christians, Ed's parents decided that the children should go into hiding since they were considered Jews by the Germans. While waiting to be taken to a permanent hiding place, seven-year-old Ed lived temporarily with some Jewish refugees in a house in Amsterdam. From there, he was taken to a widow who lived on a farm in Rossum, Gelderland. In the summer of 1942 he was taken to a barbershop, where the barber interrogated the child while cutting his hair. When the barber judged that the boy's answers were satisfactory, someone escorted him by bicycle to the home of Hermanus and Cornelia (Cor) van der Horst in Zaltbommel, Gelderland. Herman and Cor had one adult son who was no longer living at home. Herman and Cor warmly welcomed the child into their home, driven by religious principles to help save his life. Herman and Cor always took Ed with them to church. They introduced him to people as a distant relative and he attended the local school with all the other neighborhood children. Many people in Zaltbommel knew his true identity, however. When Zaltbommel became a frontline area and was evacuated on 24-hour notice, Herman and Cor walked about 15 kilometers to some friends in Geldermalsen. They took Ed with them and they all remained sheltered there for three months. The van der Horsts later moved to relatives in Bunnik with Ed, where they remained until the end of the war. After the war, Ed returned to his mother but kept in contact with his wartime foster parents.
On October 18, 1998, Yad Vashem recognized Hermanus van der Horst and his wife, Cornelia Elsje van der Horst-van Ede, as Righteous Among the Nations.

Gezin 1

Huwelijkspartner: Cornelia Elsje van Ede geb. 6 OKT 1919 overl. 13 Dec 1998
Huwelijk:

Gezin 2

Huwelijkspartner: Gerritje Hendriksen geb. 1895 overl. 25 MRT 1939
Huwelijk: 10 Juni 1921 Maartensdijk