Eighty years after the events, new research has unveiled the identity of a Jewish informant who was coerced into betraying Jews and their Dutch protectors during the Holocaust. Karl Kaufmann, a 23-year-old Jewish student, faced an impossible choice when the Nazis threatened him with death – a choice that would lead to tragic consequences for dozens of people, including himself and his own family.
For years, the home of Rika van der Lans and Waldemar Nods in the Dutch village of Scheveningen served as a sanctuary for Jews fleeing Nazi persecution during the Holocaust. This haven of safety was shattered in late 1944 when Nazi forces raided their home, arresting Rika, Waldemar, their 14-year-old son Willy (later known as "Sonny Boy"), another Dutch citizen, and four Jews who had found refuge in their home. All were sent directly to concentration and death camps.
The revelation about Kaufmann's role emerged through meticulous research conducted by author Trudy van der Wees, who examined recently opened Dutch archives of Nazi collaborators. The discovery came while she was researching a book about Cornelis (Kees) Chardon, a Righteous Among the Nations and resistance hero who saved hundreds of Jews during World War II. Chardon, a lawyer who established an extensive network of safe houses for Jews in The Hague area, was also turned in to the Nazis and murdered in 1945 at the Wobbelin concentration camp.
Through documents found in the Dutch collaborators' archive, van der Wees uncovered the complex and harrowing reality of the period. Kaufmann's collaboration with the Nazis began after his arrest, when he was presented with what appeared to be a lifeline – cooperate by providing information about Jews hiding in Dutch homes, and his family would be spared from the death camps. According to van der Wees, Kaufmann faced a "horrifying dilemma," and his subsequent collaboration led to the betrayal of dozens of people. The Nazis' promise proved hollow – Kaufmann's family members were murdered, and Kaufmann himself was arrested in February 1944 and killed at Auschwitz two months later.
The story gained widespread attention after a Dutch production studio created a film chronicling the remarkable love story between Rika van der Lans, a 37-year-old Dutch mother of four, and Waldemar Nods, a 20-year-old student from Suriname. The film depicts van der Lans's journey from divorcing her religious husband after his affair with their housekeeper to meeting Nods and becoming pregnant with his child. When her former husband discovers the child's dark skin, he rejects any reconciliation. The couple finds support from an elderly Jewish man who offers them shelter, and later, they reciprocate by sheltering Jews during the Nazi occupation – until their betrayal.
The couple met a tragic end – van der Lans was murdered in 1945 at Ravensbrück camp, while Waldemar died in a bombing just two days before his camp's liberation. Their son Willy survived the war but passed away in 2015 at age 85, never knowing who had betrayed his family.
Eline Penewaard, Holocaust historian for CIDI (Center for Information and Documentation Israel), an organization monitoring antisemitism in Holland, emphasizes the significance of the archive's opening: "The 'Sonny Boy' affair demonstrates how crucial these records are for providing closure in countless unresolved cases."
Penewaard explains that the Nazis employed various methods to locate Jews, including offering substantial monetary rewards to Dutch citizens who would inform on Jews and their protectors. This incentive drove many to actively hunt for hidden Dutch Jews. The regime also systematically coerced Jews into becoming informants through false promises of safety for themselves and their loved ones.
"This case powerfully illustrates the razor-thin line between victims and perpetrators," Penewaard noted, "and starkly demonstrates the Nazi regime's criminality in forcing victims to become perpetrators themselves."
