The Jolink Ladies

The sisters Minnie and Gerrie Jolink from Varsseveld arranged numerous hiding places in Varsseveld and the surrounding area during the Second World War. At approximately 125 locations in Varsseveld and the hamlets of Binnenheurne, Sinderen, Westendorp, and Heelweg, hundreds of Jewish people in hiding were concealed, including around 80 Jewish children and young people.

It is remarkable that the Jewish community residing in the village survived the war in its entirety. This was possible because they were all able to go into hiding in the immediate vicinity. The sisters, however, were betrayed and eventually died from the hardships of the Ravensbrück concentration camp.

Until now, there has been very little research on this subject and only brief accounts have been written. John Breukelaar, a ‘gatherer of stories’ for the Nationaal Onderduikmuseum (National Museum of Hiding and Resistance) in Aalten, has been researching the Jewish people in hiding in his birthplace of Varsseveld during the Second World War for many years. This year, the activities and significance of the Jolink ladies are being highlighted, giving a name and a face to the Jewish people in hiding and their host families through a book, an exhibition, and a lecture.

Varsseveld and the Jewish Hiding Experience

In addition to the local Jewish community, a group of Jewish people were hidden in the village who had already crossed the nearby Dutch-German border before the war, fleeing the Nazi regime and settling in surrounding towns in the Achterhoek.

Another group of Jewish people were no longer safe in the cities where they lived, such as Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Amersfoort, Zwolle, Enschede, and Zutphen, from which they had fled due to raids. Many Jewish residents from the neighbouring municipalities of Halle/Zelhem, Doetinchem, Terborg, Gendringen, Dinxperlo, Winterswijk, and Aalten came to Varsseveld to go into hiding. In this way, the village became a sanctuary for Jewish refugees.