The Righteous Few (Two Who Made a Difference)

The Righteous Few is a remarkable true tale of courage, compassion, and rescue during the Holocaust. It is the story of a young married Christian couple, Frans and Mien Wijnakker, living in the Netherlands during World War II. When their country was under Nazi German occupation, they were firsthand witnesses to the horrific acts of violence inflicted upon thousands of innocent people, especially Jews. Refusing to sit back and do nothing, they chose to put their own lives at great risk by hiding their Jewish neighbors. By the end of the war, they had managed to save more than two dozen countrymen from certain death. Their heroism later earned them a special recognition of “Righteous Among the Nations” by Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center.

Frans and Mien were Catholics who led a simple life in the countryside of southeastern Holland. They had four small children of their own. But a simple yes in response to a call for help during a business trip to Amsterdam profoundly changed Frans’ and his wife’s lives. In a two-year period, they took many Jewish refugees into their own home and organized a rescue network that placed refugees in other people’s homes, as well. As their rescue work increased, so did the many risks and dangers associated with it. They faced one of their most difficult challenges when they took in a young pregnant Jewish woman and her husband. How do you help someone who has to give birth in hiding? Through this and many other stories, The Righteous Few draws a vivid picture of two extraordinary people who shined the light of hope during one of history’s darkest periods.