Jan Koopmans

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Jan "Flip" Koopmans (born May 26, 1905 in Sliedrecht ; † March 24, 1945 in Amsterdam ) was a Dutch theologian of the Nederlandse Hervormde Kerk and a resister against the German occupation of his country during the Second World War . He publicly protested against the measures taken by the Germans against Jewish people. In March 1945 he was killed by the lost bullet of a member of the SD .

biography

Jan Koopmans was the son of Wytske van der Zee and Sjoerd Koopmans, both were teachers by profession. The son studied theology (against his parents' wishes) in Utrecht and was probably nicknamed "Flip" during this time. In 1928 he married Christina Klasina Breen (1897–1951) in Breukelen-Nijenrode . In the same year he became pastor in Zeeland and looked after the parishes of Elkerzee (1928-1931) and of 's-Heer Hendrikskinderen (1931-1938). In 1938 he received his doctorate on the subject of Het oudkerkelijk dogma in de Reformatie, bepaaldelijk bij Calvijn (the doctorate was published in German in 1955 under the title The old church dogma in the Reformation ). In the same year he became secretary for Bible studies at the Nederlandse Christen Studenten Vereniging (NCSV), which was of great social importance in the 1930s. In 1937 he brought together a group of theologians who studied the Barmer theses and advised on how to support the Confessing Church in Germany. Koopmans wanted the Dutch churches to publicly criticize the injustice that the Nazi state was inflicting on the church in Germany. He discussed this with the Swiss theologian Karl Barth , who supported these Amersfoortse theses , with which the leadership of the Reformed Church should also be moved to a sharper position against anti-Semitism. The initiative failed because of the resistance of his compatriots, who feared that this would jeopardize the Dutch policy of neutrality: "Koopman's attempt to persuade the largest Protestant church in the Netherlands to give a verdict had failed."

Together with friends, including Hebe Charlotte Kohlbrugge , Klaus Oppenheimer and Jan Rudolph Slotemaker de Bruine , he founded the Lunter District in August 1940 - after the Wehrmacht occupied the Netherlands in May 1940 - named after the place where Lunteren was founded . A little later, 30,000 copies of Koopman's brochure Bijna te Laat (“Almost too late”) were published, which were distributed with the help of friends. The trigger for the publication was the Aryan declaration required in the Netherlands since October 1940 , which all Dutch people in public positions had to sign in order to keep their jobs. 95 percent of the people in question gave their signature. Koopmans criticized the lack of moral courage of his compatriots and wrote:

“Should the declaration whether you are of Jewish origin or not be signed or not? Shall we say: It is terrible, but we are being forced and it may only last a short time? Or should we not rather stand together like one man and not just protest but, for reasons of conscience, refuse to answer inappropriate questions? "

- Quoted in: Katja Happe: People make the difference - individual perspectives on the time of occupation in the Netherlands

“We must have found it annoying that we had to do this, but it was not or hardly clear to us that, just by making the declaration, we were to some extent complicit in the measures taken against the Jews. Some of us [...] have understood that the foundations of Christian faith and humanity are being attacked here. [...] My right hand is more likely to forget itself than to sign a declaration that I am not of Jewish blood, with which I declare: You, Lord Jesus, were of Jewish blood, but fortunately I am not, and therefore can I keep my job. "

- Quoted in: Margot Käßmann , Anke Silomon: God wants to see action: Christian resistance against Hitler

Koopmans came to the conclusion that Dutch society had lost "this battle" (as he called it) because almost all officials had filled out and signed the "Aryan declaration". It is “too late” for resistance: “Zij gaan eruit en zij gaan eraan!” (“You take them away, you kill them!”) In another brochure Wat wij wel en wat wij niet geloven referred to Koopman's anti-Semitism as "one of the most persistent and deadly forms of resistance to the holy and merciful God".

When the deportations of Jewish people from the Netherlands began in July 1942 , the Dutch churches initially protested. The Nazi authorities silenced them with the promise that baptized Jews would be spared deportations "until further notice". Koopmans, pastor in Amsterdam since 1941, was given the task of issuing baptismal certificates in the Adviesbureau ten bate van niet-arische Christenen (“Advice Center for Non-Aryan Christians”) . After the war there were allegations that he should have issued more forged certificates, but "Koopmans [...] will have suspected that forgeries put many people at risk" if they were exposed.

Memorial for the 30 men executed on the Weteringplantsoen

In the spring of 1943, contrary to the promises of the Germans, the deportations were extended to the groups that had been spared until then - baptized Jews and those married to non-Jewish spouses. The SS-Hauptsturmführer and head of the Central Office for Jewish Emigration in Amsterdam Ferdinand from the Fünten appeared in the Westerbork transit camp , where many of these people were, and gave them an ultimatum that they should decide on within half an hour: immediate deportation or sterilization. Jan Koopmans found out about this incident through contacts in the camp, and a joint protest letter , which Koopmans had formulated, was sent to the Reich Commissioner for the Netherlands, Arthur Seyss-Inquart , with representatives from various churches . He described the measures as “bad” and concluded with the personal words to Seyß-Inquart: “You have been in the Netherlands for three years and we have noticed that you do not respond to the voice of the Church. But in the church we believe in a God who can convert people. And we pray that he will convert you - for the good of you and our people. ”In church services that he led, he said these words publicly as prayer, which shocked some believers. In an SS leaflet, Jan Koopmans was then referred to as the “authorized signatory” of the “Company Juda & Co. ”.

Although the Nazi authorities knew that Jan Koopmans was a vehement opponent of National Socialism , he was never imprisoned. In the last months of the war, however, he hid in constantly changing places. On March 12, 1945, he heard noise under the window of his former accommodation in Stadhouderskade 71 on the nearby Eersten Weteringplantsoen. In retaliation for the killing of the SD man and SS-Hauptscharführer Ernst Wehner - he had died in a firefight with resistance fighters - 30 political prisoners from Weteringschan's prison were set up for execution. Hundreds of residents and passers-by were forced to watch the executions. Among the involuntary spectators were a 13-year-old girl who happened to pass by on a scooter - the future politician Els Borst - and the painter Carel Willink .

As the fatal shots began, the crowd began to panic and the SD people began shooting uncontrollably. A stray bullet hit Jan Koopmans, who was looking out the window at the events, in the eye. He died twelve days later at the age of 39 and was buried in the Zorgvlied cemetery. He left behind his wife and five children. In 2017, dr Jan Koopmanspad was named after him in his former parish 's-Heer Hendrikskinderen .

Publications (selection)

  • Het oudkerkelijk dogma in de Reformatie, bepaaldelijk bij Calvijn . 1938.
  • Vrijzinnige were answered . 1938.
  • De Nederlandsche geloofsbelijdenis . 1939.
  • We lift a koning . 1939.
  • De holy doop . 1939.
  • Bijna te laat! . 1940.
  • Gods boodschap in een donkere wereld . 1941.
  • What is de Bijbel? 1942.

literature

  • Dierk Tromp / Inne de Jong: In memoriam Dr. J. Koopmans . Amsterdam 1945, ISBN 978-90-435-1499-6 .
  • Niels den Hertog: Jan Koopmans: theoloog bij de tijd: (1905-1945) . Apeldoorn 2008, ISBN 978-90-435-1499-6 .
  • Niels den Hertog: Jan Koopmans, a Dutch pastor in the resistance . In: Societies for Christian-Jewish Cooperation; German Coordination Council (Ed.): "Open your mouth for others". Special issue 2020 . 2020, p. 18-19 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b G.C. Hoving: Overzicht of preachers who hold iodine . Retrieved January 28, 2020
  2. ^ Den Hertog, Jan Koopmans, a Dutch pastor in the resistance , p. 18.
  3. ↑ a b c Jan Koopmans (Sliedrecht, May 26, 1905 - Amsterdam, May 24, 1945). In: harmenjansen.nl. Retrieved January 27, 2020 (Dutch).
  4. ↑ a b c d den Hertog, Jan Koopmans, a Dutch pastor in the resistance , p. 19.
  5. ↑ Document VEJ 5/52 in Katja Happe, Michael Mayer, Maja peers (Ed.): The persecution and murder of European Jews by Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945 (source book) Volume 5: Western and Northern Europe 1940-June 1942. Munich 2012, ISBN 978-3-486-58682-4 , pp. 201-209.
  6. ↑ Margot Käßmann, Anke Silomon: God wants to see action. ISBN 3406644538 S. 1935 ( limited preview in Google book search).
  7. ↑ Katja Happe: People make the difference - individual perspectives on the occupation time in the Netherlands . Leiden 2019.
  8. ↑ Margot Käßmann, Anke Silomon (ed.): God wants to see deeds: Christian resistance against Hitler. A reader. Publishing house CH Beck, Munich 2013.
  9. ↑ Geert Mak: My father's century . Siedler, Berlin 1999, p. 319 .
  10. ↑ Jan Koopmans. In: dedokwerker.nl. Retrieved January 27, 2020 .
  11. ↑ Barbara Beuys : Life with the enemy. Amsterdam under German occupation 1940–1945 . Carl Hanser, Munich 2012, ISBN 978-3-446-23996-8 , pp. 342 . Beuys speaks of 36 victims, 30 names are attached to the memorial.
  12. ^ Amsterdam Weteringpltsn. In: oorlogsslachtoffersijmond.nl. Retrieved January 28, 2020 (Dutch).
  13. ↑ Jan Koopmans. In: oorlogsgravenstichting.nl. Retrieved January 27, 2020 (Dutch).
  14. ^ Jose Baars: Monnikenwerk: Sok op het slagveld. In: pzc.nl. May 5, 2017, accessed January 28, 2020 (Dutch).
personal data
SURNAME Koopmans, Jan
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Flip (nickname)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Dutch Reformed theologian
DATE OF BIRTH May 26, 1905
PLACE OF BIRTH Sliedrecht
DATE OF DEATH March 24, 1945
Place of death Amsterdam