A Righteous Dutch Policeman and His Wife

The Fellowship  |  February 21, 2018

Theodorus (Theo) and Eva Bol

Lives:
Theo (1902-1978)
Eva (1905-1984)

Theo Bol was a Dutch police officer in the town of Voorburg. He and his wife Eva were also active in the Dutch underground, resisting the occupying Nazis during World War II. Their main activity was providing food ration cards and identity papers for Jews who were in hiding.

But Theo and Eva did more than just provide papers. They opened their home, which they shared with their three young children, to Jews in need of shelter. By the end of 1942, the Bol family was sheltering seven Jewish people in their home, including a family of four, a young married couple, and a young girl named Stella. In November of 1942, a new couple arrived at the Bols’ home. There were no rooms available, so Theo and Eva gave up their own bedroom and moved into the attic.

Until the home became unsafe in June 1943, the Bols hid twelve Jews there. But that month, someone betrayed the young Hertzberger children who were hiding in the home. The Hertzbergers were arrested, as were Theo and Eva. Eva was released after only three weeks, but Theo was imprisoned in the notorious Vught concentration camp for nine months.

The other Jews who had been hiding in the Bols’ home were able to escape, and Eva found new hiding spots for them once she was released from prison. She also kept up her underground work, providing food for those in hiding, and visiting those she had once sheltered. But even while Theo was in prison, Eva continued to hide Jews in her home.

All of the Jews who Theo and Eva Bol sheltered remained in touch with the family after the war was over. And in 1968, the Bols were recognized as Righteous Among the Nations for their selfless actions and the many Jewish lives they saved.