Burgemeester Martin Hermens (1877-1965)

en de Joodse vluchtelingen in Amby

Samenvatting

In the Spring of 1933 some seventy Jewish refugees from Germany settled in Amby, situated nearby Maastricht, not far from the German border. At first sight, this small village had nothing in particular to offer to refugees. The main reason for their preference seems to have been that there were houses to be let. However the fact that the mayor allowed them to settle in Amby was equally important. In doing so, he had to deal with several authorities such as the provincial governor, the military police and government officials. He stretched governmental directives in a way that might be characterized as creative obedience. But during the German occupation this ended. As was the case with most of his colleagues, his moral authority was corrupted by the Nazis. He was made accessory to the deportation of the Jews in his village. Still he was able to warn several of them in time to find hiding places. After his retirement in 1943 he went into hiding himself. With the liberation of this part of the Netherlands, he emerged and was reinstalled as mayor. Although after the war a complaint was filed against him, he was granted an honourable discharge eventually.