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Friend and helper of the Franks and those in hiding, he was also Miep's husband.
He and Miep first met while working in another company. He met the Franks via Miep. He worked as a municipal official (social worker). When the anti-Jewish laws came into effect, so that Otto's businesses could continue, Jan was named as supervisory director, and then the company became N.V. Handelsvereniging Gies & Co. ("Gies & Co." for short). It was all a cover: he was not involved in the business.
During a good part of the war, Jan was a resistance worker in his spare time. He was one of the annexers' helpers, too, visiting them almost daily and getting them ration coupons. He found a hiding place for Mrs. Stoppelman's son, Max, and daughter-in-law. Both he and Miep hid a student in their rooms and they found a way to get Mrs. Stoppelman's grandchildren into hiding elsewhere. Part of his job after the war was processing returning camp prisoners at the Centraal Station (see map). (CE p. 10; AF:BTD p. 109; AFB p. 258, 281; HLOF p. 145; AFR 171-3, but there is a lot more about him in this book, including some of his resistance activities [note: he is called "Henk" in this book])
