Jonas Knoop, born 31 May 1877 in Amsterdam, was a son of Hartog Barend Knoop and Benvenida Cohen de Solla. He married at the age of 31 on 4 February 1909 in Amsterdam his 27-year old niece Marie Knoop, who was born 10 August 1881 in Amsterdam as daughter of his father’s brother Salomon Knoop, who was married to Ribca Lopes Cardozo.
The Knoop-Knoop couple had eight children, namely Salomon in 1910, Herman in 1911, Frederik Samuel in 1913, Willem Albert in 1914, Maurits Salomon in 1916, Hendrika Benvenida in 1918, Eduard in 1921 and Jacob Andries in 1924. Herman, Frederik Samuel, Willem Albert en Hendrika Benvenida lost their lives during the Shoah; the other four children have already died in childhood.
Their son Herman Knoop, a draftsman by trade, had probably tried to escape deportation after the summer of 1942 by fleeing via Belgium to France but was apparently arrested at some point in Belgium and deported on 24 October 1942 with the 14th convoy from Mechelen to Auschwitz. This transport, combined with the 15th convoy, did not made a stop at Kozel, where men between 15 and 50 years of age were forced to leave the train to be deployed as forced labourers in the surrounding labor camps. All deportees have arrived in Auschwitz. Whether Herman has been deployed as forced laborer or got immediately killed on arrival there on ± 26 October 1942, is not known. Therefore his place and date of death as mentioned on his page at the Jewish Monument is recorded as “Municpality and date unknown”.
Whether Frederik Samuel Knoop has fled the Netherlands to escape deportation, together with his brother Herman, is not known. Known however is that Frederik Samuel has been arrested in France and was deported from Drancy to Auschwitz on 23 June 1943 with convoy 55. This transport must have been arrived ± 25 June 1943 but it is not known whether Frederik Samuel was deployed as forced laborer or was killed immediately upon arrival in Auschwitz. Therefore his place and date of death as mentioned on his page at the Jewish Monument is recorded too as “Municpality and date unknown”.
Their son Willem Albert Knoop and his sister Hendrika Benvenida Knoop were taken together from their parental home at Topaasstraat 18 on 16 March 1943 and brought to Westerbork. Willem Albert ended up there in barrack 70; of Hendrika Benvenida is it not known. On 23 March 1943 they were both deported to Sobibor and on arrival there they were immediately murdered.
Jonas and his wife Marie were both taken from their home on 15 April 1943 via the Hollandsche Schouwburg and sent to Westerbork where they ended up in barrack 62. On 4 May they were both put on transport to Sobibor and on arrival there on 7 May 1943, they were immediately killed in the gas chambers.
Sources among others: City Archive of Amsterdam, archive cards of Jonas Knoop and Marie Knoop, family registration card of Salomon Knoop (1860), closed family registration cards 1892-1920/register of Hartog Barend Knoop, archive cards of Herman, Frederik Samuel, Hendrika Benvenida and Willem Albert Knoop and the file cabinet of the Jewish Council, registration cards of Jonas Knoop, Marie Knoop-Knoop en van Herman, Willem Albert, Frederik Samuel, Willem Albert en Hendrika Benvenida Knoop.