Biography

About Ester Mirian Cohen-Roos and her family.

Ester Mirian Roos was a daughter of Calmer Roos and Mirian Prins. She married 23 October 1893 in Coevorden Mozes Cohen, butcher by trade and a son of Simon Cohen and Jeannette Oppenheimer. The couple lived in Coevorden and had there four children, namely Simon op 15 November 1893, Mirian op 6 Januari 1895, Jeannette op 17 November 1896 and Jacoba Dina op 13 Januari 1899. 

Mozes Cohen, born 1 June 1863 in Coevorden, passed away there 29 May 1902, only 38 years old. After his passing, the Cohen family members moved away from Coevorden; Simont left for Groningen on 25 May 1908; Miriam left for Sint Willibrordusstraat 9 in Amsterdam with D.A. Cohen on 2 February 1912; Jeannette went to Den Haag 11 January 1910 and Jacoba Dina left for Groningen 11 December 1911. After that, they all lived again at other addresses in the country. Finally, the widow Ester Mirian left for Amsterdam on 21 July 1915.

Her daughters Jeannette and Jacoba Dina married non-Jewish men. Jeannette however passed aswy 11 March 1933 in Amsterdam but Jacoba Dina, who was divorced after 10 years of marriage and survived the war, passed away 18 October 1962 in Utrecht. Ester Mirian’s son Simon and daughter Mirian and also she self were killed in the Holocaust.

Ester Mirian Cohen left  Amsterdam for Utrecht 7 April 1931 but returned 20 May 1940 and came to live at Tilanusstraat 75-1st floor in Amsterdam. On 8 September 1941 another removal followed: to Nieuwe Heerengracht 109 upstairs. This became also her last known address.

Just after Purim, Ester Mirian Cohen-Roos was taken from her home 22 March 1943 to be deported to Westerbork. Dr. J. Presser writes in his book “Ondergang” volume 1 at page 349 about that moment: “Monday 22 March during the day a number unstamped to the Zentralstelle, in the night 200 to the Schouwburg; 650 from Borneokade to Westerbork. That same 23rd March a transport from Westerbork to Germany; this transport went – just as some preceding and following - to the extermination camp Sobibor”.

That’s how Ester Mirian Roos ended up in Westerbork, where after two weeks she was deported 6 April 1943 to Sobibor, with another 2019 deportees. On arrival there, on 9 April 1943 she was immediately killed.

City Archive of Amsterdam, archive cards of Ester Mirian Roos, Simon Cohen, Mirian Cohen, Jan Kool and Jacoba Dina Cohen; website Alle Drenten, peoples registry of Coevofden; the archive of the Jewish Council, registration cards of Ester Mirian Cohen-Roos, Simon Cohen and Mirian Zilverberg-Cohen; “Ondergang” volume 1 page 340 by Dr. J. Presser; Municipality of Coevorden, death certificate nr.35 dated 30 May 1902 for Mozes Cohen; the website Geni.com/death of Jacoba Dina Cohen and an addition of a visitor of the website.