The Belgian authorities released Gertrude van Moorst, foster mother of the abducted Dutch Jewish war orphan Anneke Beekman, from prison in Liege Saturday and gave her 24 hours to leave the country, it was learned today.
Mrs. van Moorst’s release followed an opinion by the Attorney General of Belgium rejecting a Netherlands request for extradition of the woman, who is under sentence for her part in spiriting the Beekman child out of Holland in defiance of a court decision to return the Jewish teenager to the Jewish community. While free pending an appeal against her sentence, Mrs. van Moorst, a sister and several Catholic clergymen fled the country.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
