Biography

About Hartog de Vries.

Hartog de Vries was the only child and son of Leendert de Vries and Rachel Dreese. 22 April 1935 he married in Amsterdam Ruchel Waksman from Sandomierz in Poland, a daughter of Leizor Waksman and Jisko Berman. In 1938 the couple had a daughter named Ida (usually known as Ietje); she survived the Holocaust.

Before Hartog de Vries got married, he lived at home with his parents at St. Antoniebreestraat 22 in Amsterdam where in March 1935 the family came living in. Also his future wife lived in with the family. After his marriage, Hartog and Ruchel lived at Vrolikstraat 237 III.

Hartog de Vries was a dealer in oddments and from March till August 1935 he had a stand at the streetmarket at Waterlooplein, where he sold his goods from Monday till Friday. As other profession he was registered as newsboy. At the time of the registration of all the Jews by the Jewish Council, no profession was listed at the registration card of Hartog de Vries anymore; In March 1940 his name was removed from the Peoples Registry in Amsterdam as he was taken in at “Het Apeldoornse Bos" (Israelitic Psychiatric Hospital) at Zutphensestraat 106 in Apeldoorn. He has been nursed there till 23 January 1943, the date the Germans came to round up all patients and personel to deport them all to Auschwitz. Upon arrival there 25 January 1943, Hartog de Vries was directly killed.

After Hartog de Vries was taken in at Het Apeldoornse Bos, Ruchel Waksman stayed behind with her little daughter Ida at Vrolikstaat. 1 June 1942 she got this “job” with the Jewish Council at Nieuwe Keizersgracht 58 as “home caretaker”. So she was exempted from deportation because of function, (“gesperrt bis auf weiteres”).Through neighbors, there was found hidingplace for her daughter Ida, who has survived the Shoah. Ruchel Waksman eventually ended up in Camp Westerbork, where she was punt on transport to Sobibor 25 May 1943 and upon arrival there 28 May 1943 immediately killed.

City Archive of Amsterdam, archive card of Hartog de Vries, family registration card of Leendert de Vries; website  www.wiewaswie,nl, marriage Hartog de Vries and Ruchel Waksman; the file cabinet of the Jewish Council, registration card of Hartog de Vries and Ruchel de Vries-Waksman.

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