Lion van Coevorden, a son of Abraham van Coevorden and Froukje van Geder, was the youngest of a twin, of whom the eldest, Mozes, has died, only two months old. Lion was born in Amterdam on 8 August 1916 and he had three sisters and a brother: Grietje and Martha, who were born in Groningen and Saartje and Philip, who were born in Amsterdam.
Lion was a representative in car tires. He was unmarried and lived with his family in Amsterdam in the Albert Cuypstraat, moved with them to the Govert Flinckstraat and the 2e Jan Steenstraat, till he moved in the end of March 1938 to Groningen. After more than a year Lion returned to Amsterdam, where he found living space at various addresses: in July 1939 he lived at Amstellaan 19 2nd floor, in September 1939 at Kinderdijkstraat 55 1st floor, on 16 July 1940 he moved to Rijnstraat 154 2nd floor, where also the Asser de Haan family lived, however two months later he moved in the Rijnstraat to house no. 145 3rd floor. Again one month later he moved into a house at Plataanstraat 12 in Ouder Amstel (Duivendrecht).
Lion van Coevorden was one of the victims of the first raids of 1941: “It started with two raids in Amsterdam, the first one on 22 and 23 February and the second on 11 June. The mostly young men who were arrested in these raids, were interned at first in Camp Schoorl before they were deported. From there the first group of about 390 persons, was sent to Buchenwald on 27 February , where 47 of them died there in three months time The remaining men were put on transport on 22 May to Mauthausen. The arrested 277 men from the raid in June were sent directly from Camp Schoorl to Mauthausen”. (Source: website Stichting Vriendenkring Mauthausen).
Lion van Coevorden belonged to the so-called “ June-group” and has been transported directly from Camp Schoorl to Mauthausen, where he was killed on 16 September 1941.
Sources include the City Archive of Amsterdam, family registration card of Abraham van Coevorden, archive card of Lion van Coevorden; the file cabinet of the Jewish Council, registration card of Lion van Coevorden; website Stichting Vriendenkring Mauthausen (Dutch only) and the Wikipedia website Februaristaking (February strike) 1941. (Dutch only).