The farmer Johannes Bogaard senior lived on his farm in Nieuw-Vennep near Amsterdam with his daughter Aagje, granddaughter Metje, and two sons, Antheunius and Willem. His sons Johannes and Piet had their own farms nearby.
The large Calvinist family regarded Jews as the chosen people. From 1942 they hid persecuted Jews, including many children. Most of them found refuge on Bogaard senior’s farm.
Aagje and Metje Bogaard obtained food and cooked for them all. They also kept an eye on Bogaard senior, since there were indications that he had sexually assaulted children.
Dutch police officers and the German regular police searched the Bogaards’ farms on several occasions. During a raid in October 1943, more than 30 people were arrested, including Johannes, Aagje, and Piet Bogaard.
Johannes Bogaard was put into Herzogenbusch concentration camp, released for a short time, and then re-arrested in the summer of 1943. In September 1944 he was transferred to Sachenhausen concentration camp, where he perished five months later at the age of 79.
Farmer Johannes Bogaard senior (2nd from left) with his sons Antheunius and Willem and daughter Aagje (left to right), Nieuw-Vennep, around 1942. Source: Beeldbank WO2 – NIOD, 212475
Jews being arrested on the Bogaards’ farm, as photographed by the German regular police, October 1943. Source: Beeldbank WO2 – NIOD, 212578
A hiding place on the farm, as photographed by the German regular police, October 1943. Source: Beeldbank WO2 – NIOD, 212583
