Using MyHeritage, I Discovered That My Family Has Fought Against Persecution for Centuries

Using MyHeritage to build my family tree started as a simple project — a way to preserve the history of my Dutch roots and honor the memory of my parents. But as I gathered information and filled out details in my tree, it became so much more than that: a tribute to a legacy of resilience and moral courage stretching back over a millennium.

My parents, who immigrated to the United States from the Netherlands in 1956, were already my heroes. My mother joined the Dutch Resistance at age 20, risking her life to hide Jews, Allied soldiers, and weapons during World War II. My father spent 3 years in a Nazi labor camp, where he and his brother were forced to build tank parts for the German military — all while subtly sabotaging the effort when they could. Growing up, I was deeply proud of them. But I had no idea just how deep those values ran in our family’s past.

Tracing back to royalty — and a pope

Through MyHeritage, I began tracing my maternal lineage. The process was astonishing. Using a combination of Smart Matches™ and Record Matches, I was able to follow our family history all the way back to the year 925. I discovered that the Persijn family, my maternal line, were once Dukes and Earls — minor nobility in medieval Europe. But the biggest surprise came when I uncovered a connection to Pope Callixtus II.

An 1842 depiction of Pope Callixtus II (public domain)

According to MyHeritage records, Pope Callixtus II, who served from 1119 to 1124, was my 25th-generation uncle. I was stunned. But what made this discovery truly meaningful was learning about his legacy: Callixtus II was the author of Sicut Judaeis, a papal bull issued to protect Jews from persecution, forced conversion, and violence. This decree became a cornerstone of Catholic policy toward Jews for centuries.

My parents’ wartime courage

My father was just a young man when the Nazis occupied the Netherlands. Along with his older brother Gerrit, he was sent to a forced labor camp near the Black Forest in Germany. There, they were made to work in a factory that produced parts for battle tanks used by General Rommel’s forces. My father told me that he and his brother would deliberately skip a step in the quenching process when making the tank treads, weakening the steel so it would break more easily. It was their quiet form of resistance — risky, but deeply brave.

He never spoke much about those years. When I was 14, I asked him about his time in the labor camp. He said about two sentences and stopped. I could hear the emotion in his voice and see the tears in his eyes. I’m certain he carried the trauma with him for the rest of his life.

My mother, meanwhile, took a more direct role in the Resistance. At just 20 years old, she began helping to hide Jewish families, Allied soldiers, and weapons from the Nazis. Her courage was extraordinary. She once told me about being stopped after curfew by a German soldier who shoved the barrel of his rifle into her back. Thinking quickly, she claimed to be with the Red Cross — and he let her go. Her story was later featured in a local newspaper during the 50th anniversary of WWII’s end.

Gerrit’s mother Jenny in 1975

A legacy of protection

As I read about Callixtus II’s efforts to shield Jewish communities in 12th-century Rome, I couldn’t help but feel a profound connection between his actions and those of my mother nearly 800 years later. It gave new meaning to her decision to join the Resistance. Her act of bravery was part of a much older legacy of standing up for the persecuted.

Gerrit’s mother appears in a 1995 Kalamazoo Gazette article about resistance during the Holocaust

That realization filled me with awe. My mother had always believed in treating people with kindness and standing firm against evil. “Evil is ever present; we must always be on guard,” she would say. Now I understand why. It’s in our DNA.

The past meets the present

MyHeritage helped me go far beyond what I could learn from family stories alone. It connected me not only to ancestors with titles and history books, but also to ideals and values that continue to define who we are. That lineage of protection — from a medieval pope to a WWII resistance fighter — is something I carry with pride.

Gerrit’s mother surrounded by her children a few weeks before her passing in 1998

My wife Rhonda and I still reflect on these discoveries today. MyHeritage gave me more than a family tree; it gave me a deeper understanding of my identity. It showed me that the courage I admired in my parents wasn’t born in the 20th century. It was part of a much older story.

Gerrit and Rhonda

Many thanks to Gerrit for sharing his incredible story with us. If you have also made an amazing discovery with MyHeritage, we’d love to hear about it! Please send it to us via this form or email it to us at stories@myheritage.com.