‘We would not have survived’

A MOVING ceremony was held on the eve of Purim to honour Pietertje and Hendrik Bakker as Righteous Among the Nations at Brisbane Synagogue.

Israeli ambassador Amir Maimon presented the award from Yad Vashem to their daughter Catharina Wogandt and son Frederik Bakker, for the efforts of their parents in saving the Veffer family in the Netherlands during the Holocaust, providing a safe hiding place to their six children during Nazi raids.

Despite the risk they took to their own lives as well as the lives of their entire family, the Bakkers protected the Veffers until their liberation by Canadian soldiers in 1945.

The Veffer family was able to then move to Toronto, Canada in 1946, before migrating to Victoria in the 1950s and eventually settling in Queensland a decade later.

“We would not have survived without the extraordinary courage, intelligence and selflessness of the Bakkers,” grandson Hartley Stern Veffer said.

“Today’s event allows me to pay my special tributes to the Bakkers who played a singularly important role to save my family, the help given by the Bakkers in those thousand days of hiding is the reason why the Veffers are alive today.”

In his comments, Maimon noted the symbolism of the ceremony occurring at the beginning of the festival of Purim.

“It is about the choices that we make in life and about the love we have for each other regardless of faith, gender or status,” he said.

“We can only ask ourselves, what if there were only more angels like Pietertje and Hendrik?”

Pietertje Bakker passed away in 1976 and Hendrik in 2000.

Daughter Catharina Wogandt spoke on behalf of the Bakker family, noting that when she was first contacted, “I had no idea as to how much my family was involved in the survival of the family concerned.

“On behalf of my brother and myself, I would like to thank those responsible for honouring my parents,” she said.

“We are honoured to be here for them.”

Queensland Holocaust survivor Suzi Smeed also shared her story, highlighting that there is no place for hate.

Representatives from the embassies of the Netherlands, Peru, Portugal, Malta and Finland were also present, alongside members of the Brisbane and Queensland Jewish community.

The ceremony was co-hosted by the Queensland Jewish Board of Deputies, whose vice-president Jason Steinberg acted as emcee.