Johannes Kleiman

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Johannes Kleiman (born August 17, 1896 in Koog aan de Zaan , † January 28 or 30, 1959 in Amsterdam ) was a Dutch entrepreneur .

He was one of the people who helped Anne Frank's family, the van Pels family and Fritz Pfeffer when they tried to save themselves from the occupiers of the Netherlands . Further helpers were Jan Gies , Miep Gies , Victor Kugler and Bep Voskuijl , who were all employees of the Opekta and Pectacon companies .

When supplying the people in hiding with food etc., those involved acted at risk of death, as they faced the death penalty of the occupying power.

Life

Johannes Kleiman had known Otto Frank since he founded a bank branch in Amsterdam in the early 1920s. In 1923 he became an authorized signatory in this branch, which was located at Keizersgracht 604. After this branch was closed again in 1924, Kleiman worked in his brother Willy's company from 1925. Its company CIMEX sold disinfectants. In the same year his daughter was born; Kleiman had married in 1923.

In 1933 Otto Frank re-founded a company in Amsterdam, which moved to Prinsengracht 263 in 1938 . There Kleiman became an accountant for Opekta and Pectacon . On December 18, 1941, he officially became Frank's successor in the management of Opekta, as Frank was no longer allowed to run the company as a Jew. From July 6, 1942, the Frank family lived hidden in the rear building at Prinsengracht 263 and were looked after by Kleiman, among others. This suffered from serious stomach problems; on March 31, 1943 he had a gastric bleeding and in September of that year he had to undergo an operation.

On August 4, 1944, Kleiman was arrested along with the Frank family and his colleague Kugler. Kleiman and Kugler were initially transferred from the SD headquarters in the Euterpestraat in Amsterdam to the prison on Amstelveenseweg, from September 7th to 11th they were in the prison on the Weteringschans in Amsterdam. They were then transferred to the Amersfoort transit camp, from which Kleiman was released on September 18, 1944 at the instigation of the Red Cross because of his poor health.

In the post-war period he campaigned for the preservation of the house at Prinsengracht 263–267 in Amsterdam as a memorial. In 1971 , he was honored with the title “ Righteous Among the Nations ” in the memorial site of the Shoah , Yad Vashem , in Israel .

Kleiman ran the Opekta company from 1952 until his death in his office in 1959. He was instrumental in helping Otto Frank found the Anne Frank House in 1960 and led numerous journalists and other visitors through the former hiding place in the Secret Annex.

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ There are various statements about the date of Kleiman's death. According to www.annefrank.org , he died on January 28, 1959; Melissa Müller, The Girl Anne Frank. Eine Biographie , Munich (Ullstein Taschenbuchverlag) 2000, ISBN 3-612-65006-8 , p. 380 gives January 30, 1959 as the date of death. Kleiman died at his workplace.
  2. ↑ a b c Johannes Kleiman on annefrank.org
personal data
SURNAME Kleiman, Johannes
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Helper Anne Frank and her family in illegality
DATE OF BIRTH 17th August 1896
PLACE OF BIRTH Koog aan de Zaan
DATE OF DEATH January 1959
Place of death Amsterdam