Johannes Kleiman
Encyclopedia
Johannes Kleiman was one of the Dutch citizens who helped hide Anne Frank
and her family during the Nazi
occupation of the Netherlands
. In the published version of Anne's diary, The Diary of a Young Girl
, he is given the pseudonym
Mr. Koophuis. In some later publications of the diary, the pseudonym was removed, and Kleiman was referred to as Mr. Kleiman.
Kleiman was born in Koog aan de Zaan, Netherlands and met Otto Frank
in 1923, when he was trying to establish a branch of the Michael Frank Bank in Amsterdam
. Kleiman was registered as a proxy for the bank in May 1924 and given full powers in December of that year when the bank went into liquidation. He was hired by Frank as a bookkeeper for Opekta
and Pectacon in 1938, but had become a close friend from about 1933, when the Frank family fled to the Netherlands to escape Nazi
persecution in Germany
.
Johannes Kleiman became a member of the board of Opekta and the company was established at his home address for the next five months until it moved to Prinsengracht 263 at the end of 1940. Johannes Kleiman officially joined as bookkeeper for both Opekta and Pectacon, with Victor Kugler
and secretary Bep Voskuijl
for Pectacon, and Otto Frank
and his secretary Miep Gies
for Opekta.
In August 1944 he was arrested with Victor Kugler
by the Gestapo
after an unknown informant alerted the authorities to their aiding and concealment of Jews in the premises on the Prinsengracht. After interrogation at the Gestapo Headquarters he and Kugler were transferred to a prison on the Amstelveenseweg for Jews and 'political prisoner
s' awaiting deportation. He was imprisoned in the Amersfoort labour camp before he was released by special dispensation of the Red Cross, due to ill-health. In all, he was a prisoner of the Nazis for about six weeks.
After the publication of Anne Frank's diary, which detailed her two years in hiding, Kleiman regularly took journalists and visitors around the former hiding place, which had been vacated in the early 1950s. He became very involved in the establishment of the Anne Frank Foundation on 3 May 1957 but did not live to see the building open as a museum in 1960. He died, behind his desk, on 28 January 1959.
Anne Frank
Annelies Marie "Anne" Frank is one of the most renowned and most discussed Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Acknowledged for the quality of her writing, her diary has become one of the world's most widely read books, and has been the basis for several plays and films.Born in the city of Frankfurt...
and her family during the Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
occupation of the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. In the published version of Anne's diary, The Diary of a Young Girl
The Diary of a Young Girl
The Diary of a Young Girl is a book of the writings from the Dutch language diary kept by Anne Frank while she was in hiding for two years with her family during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. The family was apprehended in 1944 and Anne Frank ultimately died of typhus in the Bergen-Belsen...
, he is given the pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
Mr. Koophuis. In some later publications of the diary, the pseudonym was removed, and Kleiman was referred to as Mr. Kleiman.
Kleiman was born in Koog aan de Zaan, Netherlands and met Otto Frank
Otto Frank
Otto Heinrich "Pim" Frank was a German-born businessman and the father of Anne Frank and Margot Frank...
in 1923, when he was trying to establish a branch of the Michael Frank Bank in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
. Kleiman was registered as a proxy for the bank in May 1924 and given full powers in December of that year when the bank went into liquidation. He was hired by Frank as a bookkeeper for Opekta
Opekta
Opekta was a business run from 1933 to 1995, founded by Anne Frank's father Otto Frank, which distributed a pectin-based gelling preparation, to be used in jam making...
and Pectacon in 1938, but had become a close friend from about 1933, when the Frank family fled to the Netherlands to escape Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
persecution in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
Johannes Kleiman became a member of the board of Opekta and the company was established at his home address for the next five months until it moved to Prinsengracht 263 at the end of 1940. Johannes Kleiman officially joined as bookkeeper for both Opekta and Pectacon, with Victor Kugler
Victor Kugler
Victor Kugler was one of the people who helped hide Anne Frank and her family and friends during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. In Anne Frank's posthumously published diary, The Diary of a Young Girl, he was referred to under the name Mr...
and secretary Bep Voskuijl
Bep Voskuijl
Elisabeth "Bep" Voskuijl helped conceal Anne Frank and her family from Nazi persecution during the occupation of the Netherlands.Bep was born in :Amsterdam...
for Pectacon, and Otto Frank
Otto Frank
Otto Heinrich "Pim" Frank was a German-born businessman and the father of Anne Frank and Margot Frank...
and his secretary Miep Gies
Miep Gies
Miep Gies was one of the Dutch citizens who hid Anne Frank, her family and several family friends in an attic annex above Anne's father's place of business from the Nazis during World War II...
for Opekta.
In August 1944 he was arrested with Victor Kugler
Victor Kugler
Victor Kugler was one of the people who helped hide Anne Frank and her family and friends during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. In Anne Frank's posthumously published diary, The Diary of a Young Girl, he was referred to under the name Mr...
by the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
after an unknown informant alerted the authorities to their aiding and concealment of Jews in the premises on the Prinsengracht. After interrogation at the Gestapo Headquarters he and Kugler were transferred to a prison on the Amstelveenseweg for Jews and 'political prisoner
Political prisoner
According to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, a political prisoner is ‘someone who is in prison because they have opposed or criticized the government of their own country’....
s' awaiting deportation. He was imprisoned in the Amersfoort labour camp before he was released by special dispensation of the Red Cross, due to ill-health. In all, he was a prisoner of the Nazis for about six weeks.
After the publication of Anne Frank's diary, which detailed her two years in hiding, Kleiman regularly took journalists and visitors around the former hiding place, which had been vacated in the early 1950s. He became very involved in the establishment of the Anne Frank Foundation on 3 May 1957 but did not live to see the building open as a museum in 1960. He died, behind his desk, on 28 January 1959.