On the evenening of Friday 2 October 1942, also called “Black Friday” a bus was parked at the synagogue on the Market Square of Dedemsvaart. A part of the Jewish inhabitants from Dedemsvaart had to report there before 19:00 hours for departure. In the morning hours of that day, another part of the Jews of Dedemsvaart was already transported by tram from D.S.M to Zwolle and from there by train to Westerbork . The German occupiers had built a direct shunt to Westerbork on the Zwolle-Groningen railway line.
At the Market Square near the bus, a doctor was on duty that evening to provide medical assistance. A few days before, Annie Leman-Kroonenberg had received a call to report for the so-called “provision of additional work” in the East.In reality, the Jews of Avereest were taken to Westerbork by this bus to be deported from there to one of the extermination camps. Abraham (Bram) Leman had already reported a few weeks earliers and had already left Dedemsvaart.
That Friday night in question a very emotional Annie Leman came to her neighbour Mrs. Kwant. She brought a chest of drawers and baby clothes and urged Mrs. Kwant to care for her youngest child, the 10-months old boy Meijer Leman. Mrs. Kwant agreed to this without even hesitating for a moment while she said: “Leave the child here, I will take care of him”. A courageous decision!
Some moments later, the doctor on duty came to the Kwant family. He said: “You can’t keep this child because at the Market Square Annie is screaming and shrieking everything and all together. I gave her a calming injection. You are in the biggest problems and it’s better for Annie, that her youngest child will go along with her……”, or words of similar meaning. Then the little boy went along…….
Some time later, this note from Annie Leman at Westerbork arrived at the Kwant family in which she asked Mrs. Kwant to bake a cake for her and send it to Westerbork, which Mrs. Kwant has done.
From the book “De Joodse Gemeenschap van Avereest”, pages 58 & 59, by Peter Makaske, published in 1992 by Servo Publishers, Adolph van Ansenlaan 16, 9451 GR Rolde (Drenthe). (ISBN 90-71918-44-0).