Siegfried Kanstein (known as Sieg) was the son of Julius Kanstein and Cilly Prolsdorfer. In 1933 he was sent by the company Adler & Oppenheim in Frankfurt am Main to work at the Dutch branch in Oisterwijk, where he became the purchasing director. Siegfried Kanstein was decreed a naturalized Dutch citizen on 15 December 1938.
On 31 January 1940 Siegfried Kanstein married Elisabeth Wolff (known as Elly), daughter of Benjamin Mozes Wolff, a cattle and meat wholesaler, and Rosalia Israëls. Elisabeth Wolff completed the A and B examinations at the secondary modern for girls (MMS) in Arnhem and enrolled in a three-year secretarial programme in German, French and English at Maddy de Swaan's private institute. Before her marriage she worked as executive secretary at the Hollandse Metallurgische Bedrijven Biliton in Arnhem. At the time she still lived with her parents at 11 Sweerts de Landastraat in Arnhem. After they married, the couple moved to the top floor of the Beukenrode villa on the George Percklaan C 43 in Oisterwijk.
Siegfried Kanstein was an avid sportsman and won a bronze medal in the national swimming championship of 30 June 1935. He played water polo and was a referee for that sport. Elisabeth Wolff played tennis and went sailing and swimming. She also played the piano.
In October 1942 the mayor of Oisterwijk issued a request for information about their whereabouts. Siegfried Kanstein was suspected of having changed his place of residence without the required authorization. This description referred to Jews who had gone into hiding.
Siegfried Kanstein and his wife Elisabeth Wolff were caught along their flight to Switzerland and deported to Auschwitz via the French camp at Drancy.
Algemeen Politieblad, nr 42, 22 October 1942, 1189, notice 2438;
M. Wolff, De nakomelingen van Wolff ben Eleazar en Moshe ben Gompertz Halevi, 1695-1995 (Arnhem, 2001) 236-250
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