Joop Westerweel (25 January 1899,

Zutphen Zutphen () is a city and municipality located in the province of Gelderland, Netherlands. It lies some 30 km northeast of Arnhem, on the eastern bank of the river Ijssel at the point where it is joined by the Berkel. First mentioned in th ...

– 11 August 1944,

Vught Vught () is a municipality and a town in the southern Netherlands, and lies just south of the industrial and administrative centre of 's-Hertogenbosch. Many commuters live in the municipality, and the town of Vught was once named "Best place to liv ...

) was a schoolteacher, a non-conformist socialist and a

Christian anarchist Christian anarchism is a Christian movement in political theology that claims anarchism is inherent in Christianity and the Gospels. It is grounded in the belief that there is only one source of authority to which Christians are ultimately an ...

Warren I. Cohen: Profiles in Humanity: The Battle for Peace, Freedom, Equality, and Human Rights ; Chapter 10; page 158
/ref> who became a Dutch World War II resistance leader, the head of the Westerweel Group. Westerweel, along with Joachim Simon and other Jewish colleagues, helped save around 200 to 300 Jews by organizing an escape route, smuggling Jews through

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

and on into neutral Switzerland and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. He was arrested on 10 March 1944, after leading a group of Jewish children to safety in Spain, whilst on his way back to the Netherlands at the Dutch/Belgian border. He was executed at

Herzogenbusch concentration camp , , german: Konzentrationslager Herzogenbusch , location map = Netherlands , map alt = , map caption = Location of the camp in the Netherlands , coordinates = , known for = , location = Vught, Netherlands , built by = N ...

in August 1944.

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Teachers Who Rescued Jews During the Holocaust
Yad Vashem
ONA SIMAITE, JOOP WESTERWEEL, IRENA SENDLEROWA
USHMM 1889 births 1944 deaths People from Zutphen Dutch people who died in Nazi concentration camps Dutch resistance members Dutch Righteous Among the Nations Christian anarchists Dutch anarchists Dutch Christians Anarcho-pacifists Dutch people of World War II Dutch people executed by Nazi Germany Dutch people executed in Nazi concentration camps Resistance members killed by Nazi Germany Deaths by firearm in the Netherlands {{Anarchist-stub Executed anarchists

References

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