Nathan Heijmans was a son of the stock broker Joseph Heijmans from Appeltern and Susanna Gersons from Tilburg and was born 7 October 1896 in Alphen aan den Rijn. Nathan left his parental home in 1917 for Amsterdam where he found a room in the Sarphatistraat 149 upperhouse, started working as an office clerk but became an accounts clerk by trade in the end. Early October 1918 he moved another time to Jonas Daniel Meijerplein 18 and on 27 June 1921 he left Amsterdam for his brother Abraham Barend Heijmans, who had a dental practice in Bussum.
In early 1933 Nathan returned from Bussum in Amsterdam, to leave for London shortly thereafter where he married on 23 April 1933 Sophie Philips, who was born there on 30 October 1899. Already on 19 May 1933 the newly wed couple returned from London in Amsterdam and moved into a house in the Roompotstraat 11, the River district of Amsterdam-South, where on 25 October 1934 also their first daughter Ann Leah was born. Two years later, the family moved on 22 April 1936 to Catharina van Clevelaan 13 in Nieuwer Amstel, where on 8 October 1938 their second daughter Joan Lucie was born.
In the meantime, Nathan’s brother Abraham Barend Heijmans was married 14 August 1928 in Zwolle to Helena Letter, returned together in Bussum and had on 4 April 1930 their first child, a daughter named Rosalie Suze. After their move on 1 April 1931 within the municipality of Bussum to Generaal de la Reijlaan 8, Nathan's brother and sister-in-law had another three children.
Abraham Barend Heijmans and his family were taken to Westerbork on 6 September 1942, most likely after being arrested, possibly through treason for hiding, and already deported to Auschwitz on 7 September 1942. The registration card of Rosalie Suze Heijmans showed however that she was accommodated as a “foster child (daughter of brother in Germany)” in the family of Nathan Heijmans, however without mentioning per when that was.
During the mandatory registration of all Jews in the Netherlands, Nathan Heimmans had a so-called “Diamond Sperre” so he self, his wife, his two daughters and foster child were exempted from deportation for the time being. It appeared from the administration of the municipality of Amsterdam that the family still lived in Nieuwer Amstel in April 1942, but in December 1942 they were registered at Uiterwaardenstraat 346 in Amsterdam-South. Since 1937, Nathan was also a member of the Management Committee of the Dutch Israelitch Main Synagogue (abbreviated NIHS) at Houtmarkt 8 (the renamed Jonas Daniel Meijerplein).
The family had made efforts to go into hiding, but on 20 June 1943 all were arrested during the large-scaled and secretly prepared raid in Amsterdam and taken to Westerbork. There, Nathan Heijmans made frantic attempts to avoid deportation; here a shortened reconstruction of the correspondence to that end:
22 June 1943: message to emigration office Westerbork: request news about the Palestine matter.
24 June 1943: from emigration office Westerbork: No evidence of presence of parents-in- law in Palestine. When Auerbach has been with us, we report further.
26 June 1943: request placement on Palestine list. Here some pieces of evidence that must be returned.
27 June 1943: from emigration office Westerbork: Need more evidence. Palestine commission does not consider the evidence that Nathan Heijmans’ in-laws live in Palestine sufficient.
16 July 1943: from “Antragstelle” to Aid to Departers: postcard from prisoner back. Furter steps no use.
Because: already on 29 June Nathan Heijmans, his wife Sophie Philips, both his daughters Ann Leah and Joan Luci and forster daughter/niece Rosalie Suze were deported to Sobibor in a transport of nearly 2400 deportees. On arrival on 2 July 1943, all were immediately killed in the gas chambers of Sobibor.
Sources include the City Archive of Amsterdam, family registration card of Nathan Heijmans, archive cards of Nathan Heijmans and Sophie Philips; the file cabinet of the Jewish Council, registration cards of Nathan Heijmans, Sophie Heijmans-Philips, Anna Leah Heijmans, Joan Lucie Heimans and fostrer child Rosalie Suze Heijmans and the Wikipedia listing of jodentransporten vanuit Nederland.nl.