(Barlo, 1908)

Member of the 3rd Company DNB

Shortly after the liberation, he advances with the Canadian army

Hendrik Jan te Brake was born in Barlo, Aalten, on 5 January 1908, the son of Frederik te Brake and Christina te Brake-Pennings. Immediately after their marriage, his parents moved to a farm on Vlasspreideweg, and his father worked as a farmer and clog maker. In December 1913, the Te Brake family moved to the Holterhoek in Eibergen. Hendrik was the only son and grew up with five sisters. He went to work in the dyehouse of a textile factory.

On 3 September 1942, Hendrik te Brake married Aaltje te Lintel Hekkert in Hoorn. They lived in Eibergen, where they were happy despite the dark shadows of the war. In the spring of 1943, two Jewish brothers, Sally and Zadok Zion, found a safe hiding place with them (having been betrayed shortly before). The brothers alternated this with hiding at the Wassink family home nearby. In this way, they were saved and experienced the liberation two years later.

During this period, Hendrik received a summons for the German Arbeitseinsatz (forced labour). He could no longer stay at the factory, but most importantly, Aaltje was pregnant with their first child. He went into hiding immediately and joined the resistance. This was hardly surprising, as his maternal cousin, Dela Wikkerink-Eppink, and her husband ‘Ome Jan’ in Aalten, were deeply involved in the resistance and helped Jews, as did her brothers. His paternal relatives also sheltered Jews, namely the children of Aunt Mina Rhebergen-te Brake. At the end of 1943, Hendrik and Aaltje’s eldest daughter was born.

In the autumn of 1944, Hendrik became a member of the Interior Forces (Binnenlandse Strijdkrachten), combat section. After Eibergen was liberated, he joined the 3rd Company of the Dutch National Battalion and departed for the Veluwe and then Brabant. In June 1945, his second child, a son, was born. By then, he was back home in Eibergen. In May 1947, he was in Batavia, Dutch East Indies. Later, Aaltje and he had four more children.

Hendrik passed away on 16 December 1965 in Eibergen. In September 1980, the Yad Vashem award was posthumously presented to Hendrik and Alie te Brake-te Lintel Hekkert. She passed away in 2000.

Hendrik te Brake