ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Ans van Dijk

An Ans van Dijk is not a thing, it is a person's name. People have names to help them know who they are and to make it easier for other people to remember them. Ans van Dijk is the name of a real person who lived a long time ago in the Netherlands.

When Ans van Dijk was alive, there were some very bad things happening in the world. This was called the Second World War and it happened many years ago. During this time, some people were treated very badly because they were Jewish. Ans van Dijk was also Jewish, which means that she believed in a different religion than some other people.

Being Jewish was very dangerous during the war because some people didn't like Jewish people and wanted to hurt them. Ans van Dijk wanted to help other Jewish people as much as she could. She worked with an organization that tried to save Jewish people from getting hurt. She did this by making fake identification cards for them or helping them find places to hide where the bad people couldn't find them.

But sadly, someone found out what Ans van Dijk was doing and she got caught. The bad people arrested her and she was very scared. They accused her of helping Jewish people and they wanted to punish her for it. They put her on trial, which means they had a special meeting to decide if she did anything wrong.

At the trial, Ans van Dijk told the truth about what she had done. She said she had helped Jewish people because she believed it was the right thing to do, even though it was illegal at that time. She wanted to protect them and keep them safe.

The judges at the trial listened to what Ans van Dijk said, and they decided that she did a good thing by trying to save Jewish people. They said that she was brave and had a kind heart. So they didn't punish her as much as they could have.

After the war, Ans van Dijk continued to help people. She worked for an organization that helped Holocaust survivors, which means people who had been through the bad things that happened during the war. She wanted to make sure they were okay and had what they needed.

Ans van Dijk is remembered as a hero because she risked her own safety to help others. Even though she faced dangers and got in trouble, she did what she believed was right. Her story teaches us that it is important to stand up for what is right, even if it is hard.