Biography
Bert Bochove (1910-1991), a Dutch businessman who, together with his wife, Annie, hid 37 Jews in his home in Huizen during the German occupation of Holland. The Bochoves married in 1941 and settled in Huizen. Since Annie was a pharmacist, they opened a drugstore and moved into the apartment above. They became involved in the rescue of Jews in 1942 when Annie's Jewish friend, Henny, turned to them for help. The Bochoves graciously took her into their home. Henny was soon followed by her husband and sister, and before long over three dozen people were hiding in an attic Bochove built between his house and the firewall that separated their home from the neighbors. Bochove also added a balcony onto the front of the house, where the hidden Jews could go out for an occasional breath of fresh air. The group of people living at the Buchoves came close to being discovered, when a female employee at the drugstore betrayed them to her German boyfriend. However, just in time, her betrayal was uncovered when a letter posted by the German to the employee was intercepted by the Buchoves. The letter revealed his plans to raid the house while the employee was on vacation. The Buchoves quickly found a temporary hiding place for the Jews, and the Germans found no one when they arrived. All 37 of the Jews sheltered by the Buchoves survived the war. Annie Buchove died of tuberculosis in 1949, and four years later Bert married his second wife, Betty. In 1956 the Buchoves immigrated to the United States. In 1980 he was recognized as Righteous Among the Nations.
[Source: Block, Gay and Malka Drucker. Rescuers: Portraits in Moral Courage in the Holocaust. Holmes & Meier, New York,1992]
