Johannes Kleiman (17 August 1896 – 28 January 1959) was one of the Dutch residents who helped hide

Anne Frank Annelies Marie "Anne" Frank (, ; 12 June 1929 – )Research by The Anne Frank House in 2015 revealed that Frank may have died in February 1945 rather than in March, as Dutch authorities had long assumed"New research sheds new light on Anne Fra ...

and her family during the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

occupation of 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 ...

. In the published version of Frank's diary, ''Het Achterhuis'', known in English as ''

The Diary of a Young Girl ''The Diary of a Young Girl'', also known as ''The Diary of Anne Frank'', is a book of the writings from the Dutch-language diary kept by Anne Frank while she was in hiding for two years with her family during the Nazi occupation of the Neth ...

'', he is given the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

Mr. Koophuis. In some later publications of the diary, the pseudonym was removed (just like the other protectors' pseudonyms), and Kleiman was referred to by his real name. Kleiman was born in

Koog aan de Zaan Koog aan de Zaan () is a town in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Zaanstad, and lies about 11 km northwest of Amsterdam. History Koog aan de Zaan developed in the 16th century on the western bank of ...

, the Netherlands and met

Otto Frank Otto Heinrich Frank (12 May 1889 – 19 August 1980) was a German businessman who later became a resident of the Netherlands and Switzerland. He was the father of Anne and Margot Frank and husband of Edith Frank, and was the sole member of ...

in 1923, when he was trying to establish a branch of the Michael Frank Bank in

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 ...

. Kleiman was registered as a proxy for the bank in May 1924 and given full powers in December of that year when the bank went into liquidation. He was hired by Frank as a bookkeeper for

Opekta Opekta, also known as Gies & Co., was a European pectin and spice company that existed between 1928 and 1995. It is notable for its Dutch operation being based in the building at ' that would later become the Anne Frank House. Opekta started ...

and Pectacon in 1938, but had become a close friend from about 1933, when the Frank family fled to the Netherlands to escape

persecution in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. Johannes Kleiman became a member of the board of Opekta and the company was established at his home address for the next five months until it moved to

Prinsengracht The Prinsengracht is a -long canal that runs parallel to the Keizersgracht in the center of Amsterdam. The canal, named after the Prince of Orange, is the fourth of the four main canals belonging to the canal belt. History Construction started ...

263 at the end of 1940. He officially joined as bookkeeper for both Opekta and Pectacon, with

Victor Kugler Victor Kugler (5 June 1900 – 14 December 1981) was one of the people who helped hide Anne Frank and her family and friends during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. In Anne Frank's posthumously published diary, ''Het Achterhuis'', known ...

and secretary

Bep Voskuijl Elisabeth "Bep" Voskuijl (; 5 July 1919 – 6 May 1983) was a resident of Amsterdam who helped conceal Anne Frank and her family from Nazi persecution during the occupation of the Netherlands. In the early versions of ''Het Achterhuis'', know ...

for Pectacon, and

and his secretary

Miep Gies Hermine "Miep" Gies (; ; 15 February 1909 – 11 January 2010) was one of the Dutch citizens who hid Anne Frank, her family (Otto Frank, Margot Frank, Edith Frank) and four other Dutch Jews (Fritz Pfeffer, Hermann van Pels, Auguste van Pels, Pet ...

for Opekta. On 4 August 1944, Kleiman was arrested with

during the

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...

raid that arrested the Frank family and four other concealed

Jew 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""Th ...

s in the premises on the Prinsengracht. After interrogation at Gestapo headquarters, he and Kugler were transferred to a prison on the Amstelveenseweg for Jews and

political prisoner A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although n ...

s awaiting deportation. Kleiman was imprisoned in the Amersfoort labour camp before he was released by special dispensation of the

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

because of his ill health. In all, he was a prisoner of the Nazis for about six weeks. After the publication of Anne Frank's diary, which detailed her two years in hiding, Kleiman regularly took journalists and visitors around the former hiding place, which had been vacated in the early 1950s. He became very involved in the establishment of the Anne Frank Stichting (

Anne Frank Foundation The Anne Frank Foundation ( nl, Anne Frank Stichting) is a foundation in the Netherlands originally established to maintain the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam. This foundation also advocates the fight against antisemitism and racism and publishes t ...

) on 3 May 1957 but did not live to see the building open as a museum in May 1960. He died, behind his desk, on 28 January 1959. Otto Frank was devastated about this loss. On 8 March 1972,

Yad Vashem Yad Vashem ( he, יָד וַשֵׁם; literally, "a memorial and a name") is Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; honoring Jews who fought against th ...

recognized Kleiman as one of the

Righteous Among the Nations Righteous Among the Nations ( he, חֲסִידֵי אֻמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם, ; "righteous (plural) of the world's nations") is an honorific used by the State of Israel to describe non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust to sav ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kleiman, Johannes 1896 births 1959 deaths Dutch people of World War II Dutch Righteous Among the Nations People from Zaanstad Anne Frank

Further reading

References