When Zwolle was liberated on 14 April 1945, it was revealed that fourteen Jewish people had been hiding at the address P.C. Hooftstraat 18. The residents, Nico and Atie Noordhof, had made their home available as a hiding place early on. Their Jewish friend, Arie Brandon, had already begun using the house in 1941 to modify radios for better reception of British broadcasts.
After the first major raid in October 1941, two Jewish residents of Zwolle went into hiding at the Noordhof residence. More followed—some stayed temporarily, others for longer periods—until, by 1945, fourteen individuals were in hiding in the house. Hiding spaces were created in the attic, and extra room was made in the bedrooms. Nico also tended a garden to help provide more food.
While in hiding, the group printed underground newspapers in the house, including Houdt Moed and a regional edition of Vrij Nederland, sharing news from an Allied perspective. These activities also helped alleviate boredom.
Nico was actively involved in resistance efforts: he coordinated transports during the Hunger Winter of 1944–1945, and he mapped German positions, which helped the Allied forces gain a clearer picture of the situation in the region.
In 1999, Nico and Atie Noordhof were posthumously awarded the Yad Vashem distinction for their courageous aid to Jewish people in hiding.