A Dutch woman living in New Zealand was honored as a Righteous Among the Nations.
Hermina van der Schaaf, who risked her life by hiding three Jews during the Holocaust, received the Yad
Vashem award from non-resident Ambassador Yuval Rotem at a dinner Sunday night in Auckland to celebrate Israel’s 60th anniversary.
In 1943 van der Schaaf and her late husband hid Max Pollock, his wife Claude and his sister Esta Pollock in Holland. They stayed with the Schaafs for two months until they found the Pollock family a safe house on an
isolated farm.
Van der Schaaf, who lives in Christchurch, received the award in the presence of her five
children, Holocaust survivor Robert Narev and Minister for Pacific Island Affairs Winnie Laban.
Her husband received the honor from Yad Vashem before he died.
