Vegetable shop

We are standing at Leliegracht 58, once the site of Van Hoeven’s greengrocer. From this shop, food was supplied to the people hiding in the Secret Annex. Miep Gies and Bep Voskuijl came here regularly, often early in the morning, to collect vegetables, potatoes, and fruit without drawing attention. Van Hoeven knew that the food was meant not only for the Opekta office but also for those living above it. In July 1944 he was arrested for sheltering two Jewish people in his home. Anne wrote in her diary: “Every day something new. This morning Van Hoeven was caught; he had two Jews in his house. It’s a heavy blow for us… The world’s upside down… For us too, Van Hoeven is a great loss. We’ll have to go hungry, but that’s nothing compared to being discovered.”