About us We are Boissevains in the USA
We are remembering our ancestors and what they fought for
Charles Handelsblad Boissevain fought for the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. His two middle daughters Hilda and Olga fought for the right to have an education. His two daughters-in-law Maria Pijnappel Boissevain and Inez Milholland Boissevain both fought for the right of women to vote.
During World War II, Jan Canada Boissevain and his two sons Gi and Janke all fought for the end of the Occupation. Bob Boissevain, grandson of Charles, fought against the Occupation on several fronts and did not survive the Occupation. Willem van Stockum, son of Olga Emily Boissevain, piloted a Halifax bomber and was shot down by German antu-aircraft fire over Laval, France.
Testimony to their courage is in Yad Vashem awards, burial in the Cemetery of Heroes, and monuments to their contribution to fighting the Nazis.
New challenges face us. We can be guided by the past.
The Nazi cry that their followers had been victimized by conpiracies has been picked up by people claiming that Americans have been victimized by Jews, by Muslims, by Chinese people, by Latinos, by Black people, by people pursuing gender tolerance and rights—these are the signs of a resurgence of the Nazi dog-whistles of the past. They are the reasons that the orginal Boissevains saw their rights taken away in France under Louis XIV and had to escape in hay-wagons or wine barrels to seek asylum in neighhoring counties.
Our team
Erik Peters
Administrator
Thomas Stevenson
Campus pastor
Jeremy Erickson
Tech resident
