Gerrit Kleerekoper (15 February 1897 – 2 July 1943) was a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, shou ...

coach. He was married with two children and worked as a diamond cutter. He led the Dutch women gymnastics team to win the gold medal at the

1928 Olympic Games 1928 Olympics may refer to: *The 1928 Winter Olympics, which were held in St. Moritz, Switzerland *The 1928 Summer Olympics, which were held in Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most po ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. Kleerekoper's team scored 316.75 points, defeating Italy and the United Kingdom. In 1997, along with the team, he was inducted into the

International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame The International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame ( he, יד לאיש הספורט היהודי, translit=Yad Le'ish HaSport HaYehudi) was opened July 7, 1981 in Netanya, Israel. It honors Jewish athletes and their accomplishments from anywhere around ...

. Many years later Alida van den Bos, one of the gold-winning gymnasts, told in an interview how important Kleerekoper's contribution was:

"The training for the Olympics always took place at indoor gymnasiums even though the Olympics that year took place at an outdoor stadium. A few months prior to the Olympics, Kleerekoper made us only practice outdoors because he said that you never know how the weather will be the day of the Olympics and that we must be prepared for hot weather or any weather. The practice outside was very good, because we noticed that you have a lot more energy outdoors than needed."

The members of his Olympic gold-winning team were:

Alida van den Bos Alida "Alie" Johanna van den Bos (18 January 1902, in Amsterdam – 16 July 2003, in Amsterdam) was a Dutch gymnast who competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics. In 1928 she won the gold medal as member of the Dutch gymnastics team. Van den Bo ...

Estella Agsteribbe Estella "Stella" Agsteribbe (6 April 1909 – 17 September 1943) was a Dutch gymnast. She won the gold medal as member of the Dutch gymnastics team at the 1928 Summer Olympics in her native Amsterdam. The team was inducted into the International ...

Jacomina van den Berg Jacomina "Mien" Elisabeth Sophia van den Berg (28 December 1909 - 14 November 1996) was a Dutch gymnast who competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics, earning a gold medal. She was born in and died in The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Ha ...

, Petronella Burgerhof,

Elka de Levie Elka de Levie (21 November 1905 – 29 December 1979) was an Amsterdam-born Netherlands, Dutch Artistic gymnastics, gymnast who won the gold medal as member of the Dutch gymnastics team at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam. She was ...

Helena Nordheim Helena "Lea" Nordheim (1 August 1903 – 2 July 1943) was a Dutch gymnast. She won the gold medal as a member of the Dutch gymnastics team at the 1928 Summer Olympics in her native Amsterdam. With her team, she was inducted into the International ...

, Ans Polak,

Petronella van Randwijk Petronella "Nel" Phillemina Johanna van Randwijk (14 September 1905 – 21 September 1978) was a Dutch gymnast. She won the gold medal as member of the Dutch gymnastics team at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam. She was born in Utrecht ...

Hendrika van Rumt Hendrika "Riek" Alida van Rumt (28 August 1897 in Amsterdam – 26 May 1985 in Amsterdam) was a Dutch gymnast. She won the gold medal as member of the Dutch gymnastics team at the 1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics ( nl, Olymp ...

Jud Simons Judikje "Jud" Simons (20 August 1904 – 20 March 1943) was a Dutch gymnast who competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics. In 1928 she won the gold medal as member of the Dutch gymnastics team. The team was inducted into the International Jewish ...

Jacoba Stelma Jacoba Cornelia "Co" Stelma (2 July 1907 – 30 August 1987) was a Dutch gymnast. She won the gold medal as a member of the Dutch gymnastics team at the 1928 Summer Olympics. She was born in The Hague and died in Brielle Brielle (), also c ...

and

Anna van der Vegt Anna "Annie" Maria van der Vegt (4 December 1903 – 13 April 1983) was a Dutch gymnast who competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics. In 1928 she won the gold medal as member of the Dutch gymnastics team. She was born in The Hague and died in Rij ...

. Five members of the gold-winning team were Jewish and in 1943 were murdered at

Sobibor Sobibor (, Polish: ) was an extermination camp built and operated by Nazi Germany as part of Operation Reinhard. It was located in the forest near the village of Żłobek Duży in the General Government region of German-occupied Poland. As an ...

and

Auschwitz Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...

by the Nazis during

Operation Reinhard or ''Einsatz Reinhard'' , location = Occupied Poland , date = October 1941 – November 1943 , incident_type = Mass deportations to extermination camps , perpetrators = Odilo Globočnik, Hermann Höfle, Richard Thomalla, Erwin L ...

. On 2 July 1943 Gerrit Kleerekoper, along with his wife Kaatje and their fourteen-year-old daughter Elisabeth, were murdered by the Nazis at the

Sobibór extermination camp Sobibor (, Polish: ) was an extermination camp built and operated by Nazi Germany as part of Operation Reinhard. It was located in the forest near the village of Żłobek Duży in the General Government region of German-occupied Poland. As a ...

in German-occupied Poland. Their twenty-one-year-old son Leendert was murdered in

in July 1944 by exhaustion.

See also

Notes

Further reading