Joop Levy

Joop Levy’s toy aeroplane

From September 1942, Joop Levy went into hiding with his parents, Philip and Elwine Levy-Meyer, at the Ebbers family farm in Lintelo. At first, they slept in a small room inside the house, but later they moved to a hidden shelter above the stables. The family’s son, Jan Ebbers, also slept there because he refused to report for forced labour (Arbeitseinsatz). Joop had no friends to play with and was not allowed to go outside, which made him very bored.

On his eighth birthday in October 1943, Joop received a wonderful surprise: a resistance courier brought him a beautiful wooden toy aeroplane. It had been made by his cousin Jonny Levy and a Russian pilot named Alex Sidorov, who were both in hiding with the Geurink family in Lichtenvoorde. They had cleverly crafted the little plane from an old wooden toilet seat.

Three weeks before the liberation, things became very dangerous: seventy German soldiers stayed at the farm for two weeks. At night, they even slept directly above the Levy family’s hiding place. Fortunately, the family remained undiscovered.

Handover to the National Hiding Museum

A year after the liberation, a parade was held in Joop’s home village of Varsseveld. Joop took part, dressed as a pilot, proudly carrying his toy plane under his arm. Although he didn’t win a prize, his joy was no less for it!

After a long ‘flight’ through various museums across the country, Joop Levy’s aeroplane has finally landed at the National Hiding Museum in Aalten. In 2016, the toy was officially handed over to the museum in the presence of Joop Levy himself, the descendants of Jonny, and the Geurink family. It has since become a permanent part of the collection.

Joop Levy considers himself ‘incredibly lucky’ and says: “A hero is someone who risks their life, without asking for anything in return.”