Jan Gies witnessed the arrest
After Jan Gies heard that the SD was at Opekta, he and Johannes Kleiman's brother tried to see what was happening from across the canal. They saw the people in hiding and the helpers put into a van for detainees and driven away.
Brug over Bloemgracht bij Prinsengracht
Fotograaf onbekend. Fotocollectie Anne Frank Stichting Copyright: Publiek domein.
Jan Gies arrived at the Opekta office as he did every day around noon for lunch, but his wife Miep Gies sent him away again immediately. He was able to escape unhindered, and he also stated that he did not see any SD officers. He returned to his office on Marnixstraat.
There he considered his options and decided to inform Kleiman's brother, who worked at Paauwe's firm on Bloemgracht. Together, from the bridge at Prinsengracht, they watched the rest of what happened. He saw a dark-coloured van parked in front of the building, which apparently had not been there before. He believed this was an Amsterdam police detention van, and in any case not a German vehicle.