In 2015 I published a memoir, based on the true story of my mother Renata Bitterman’s life in hiding as a child born in wartime Amsterdam – Two Prayers Before Bedtime.

It is the story of the bravery of Aad and Fie Versnel, a childless couple in their thirties who took in one year-old Renata and nurtured her between 1942 and 1945. They risked their lives, loving her and treating her like their own flesh and blood, in their home in Wormerveer, just twelve miles away from Amsterdam.

For the last fifty years my family had lost all contact with the Versnel family, as the older generations had died out. But when the memoir came out my family felt that, in spite of my mother’s previous attempt to find the Versnel family, we had to redouble our efforts. My mother presented my sisters and me with a box of black and white photos, of the Versnels and the Bittermans, spanning twenty years – from 1942 up until my parent’s wedding in 1962 – reflecting a most special relationship that extended well beyond the war years.

“Renata Bitterman with her mother, 1941”

My sister uploaded a photo of Aad and Fie Versnel and posted it on Facebook, asking if anyone knew this couple. I thought little of it, as the chances of success were unrealistic, especially given the fact that we lived in different countries. However, I shared the post with a handful of Dutch friends. One of the friends shared it with her friends….and in an incredible turn of events, within just three days the post had reached a certain Hans Versnel, who turned out to be the great nephew of Aad Versnel.

We learned that Aad Versnel and his older brothers were God-fearing Protestants. Another brother also hid a child, while a third brother, Klaas (grandfather of Hans), owned a lithographer studio and was a forger of ID cards and food stamps for the Zaanse Resistance. He was arrested in 1944 and died in a German prison a few weeks before the end of the war.

“The Versnels and their daughters at Renata’s wedding, 1962”

In 1945 Aad and Fie Versnel, who were childless for many years, found it too painful to return Renata to her parents and brother, who had miraculously survived the war. Five out of seven Dutch Jews were killed in the Holocaust – so a family reunion was no trivial matter. Renata’s mother Cilla begged to have her daughter back and prayed for the couple to have their own child. Exactly a year later, in June 1946 Aad and Fie were blessed with a daughter Els Renate (named after my mother), followed by another daughter Cobie, in 1948.

After we made contact with Hans, following the Facebook post, he put us in touch with Els and Cobie. We secretly invited them to London in 2015, where they were guests of honor at a huge family celebration. A surprise emotional reunion took place between my mother and Els and Cobie after more than fifty years.

Courtesy of Nadine Wojakovski
“Renata meets her namesake, 2015”

Thereafter I applied to Yad Vashem for Aad and Fie Versnel to be recognized as “Righteous Among the Nations.” The special committee is chaired by a retired judge of the Supreme Court. The process was a lengthy one as Yad Vashem needed to verify information going back to the war years. Finally in January 2017 we received the long awaited news: after 75 years Aad and Fie Versnel have been awarded the title of Righteous Among The Nations “for help rendered to Jewish persons during the period of the Holocaust at the risk of their lives.”

In a further surprising incident, a few weeks ago I was in Sydney overnight, where I met a hotel manager, a Dutch Jew, whose parents were hidden in the War. The following morning, before my departure, he showed me a book about hidden Jews in Holland. I immediately looked for my mother’s name, which was not there. I then looked up “Versnel” only to find the information about Klaas and his heroic work for the Resistance. (This was just days before I received the information from Yad Vashem about Aad and Fie.)

So now, in spite of this great achievement for Aad and Fie Versnel I aim to get Klaas, a man who paid the ultimate price, to save Jewish lives, also recognized as a Righteous Among the Nations.

As told by Nadine Wojakovski, whose memoir is available here

Originally published HERE