Barend Mozes Slagter was born on 11 August 1884 as the third of the five children from the family of Mozes Barend Slagter and Rosetta Zoest. He started his career as travelling salesman with faience-pottery, but later he became the proprietor of an advertising agency and was a correspondent for Jewish- and other magazines. On 16 August 1916 he married in Rotterdam Henriette Polak, who was born 27 December 1885 in Middelharnis as daughter of Jacob Mozes Polak and Florette Broekhuijsen.
Barend and Henriette had six children together, of whom the youngest, Jacob Simon died on 25 July 1925, only six months old. The other children were Mozes, who was born in July 1917, Rosetta in 1918, Florettha in 1920, Alida in 1921 and Saul Joseph in 1924. Of those children was AlidA the only one who – presumably in the early summer of 1942 – got married to Jozeph Trijtel. All other children were unmarried when they were killed during the Shoah.
When Barend Mozes and Henriette were married, they moved into a house in the Mauritsstraat 35 in Rotterdam, located not far from De Doelen. Afterwards, they moved in 1924 to the Aert van Nesstraat 128b and on 15 September 1938 to the Delftschestraat 61a. However, the bombardment on Rotterdam of 14 May 1940 destroyed their house there and on 8 August 1940 they were offered a house at Essenburgsingel 82b.
Barend Mozes Slagter, his wife Henriette Polak and his children Mozes Barend and Rosetta were so to say “employed” by the Jewish Council and had received an Jewish Coucil I.D. but they were not officially “gesperrt”- exempted from deportation for the time being. The children Florettha, Saul Joseph ana Alida with her spouse most likely might have responded to the call for the “Arbeitseinsatz” and were already on 31 July 1942 in Westerbork and deported to Auschwitz on 3 August 1942. It is unknown when exactly they have lost their lives there but the Dutch authorities after the war have ordered to draw up certificates of death for them, in which was established that they have died in Auschwitz on 30 September 1942.
Their daughter Rosetta was carried off to concentration camp Vught on 22 April 1943 and eventually killed in Sobibor on 9 July 1943. Barend Mozes Slagter, his wife Henriette Polak, together with their son Mozes Barend were taken on 10 April 1943 and carried off to Westerbork, where they had to wait in barrack 57 to be deported. Mozes Barend was put on transport only on 13 July 1943 to Sobibor, where he was killed upon arrival there on 16 July 1943.
Barend Mozes Slagter and Henriette Polak however stayed just for ten days in Westerbork. Presumably, as they expected to be sent to a labor camp, Mozes Barend “ordered” via Dr. Bloch from the Medical Department 1000 brewer’s yeast pills (a dietary supplement) for his wife and him self to stay healthy there. It was informed that it was not an order for the hospital but for a private person and as there was no name mentioned of a pharmacy, the pills should be delivered with an invoice. Existing documents however made it not clear whether those pills have actually been delivered. On 20 April 1943 they were both put on transport to Sobibor and on arrival there on 23 April 1943 immediately killed in the gas chambers there.
Sources include the City Archive of Rotterdam, family registration card of Barend Mozes Slagter, the file cabinet of the Jewish Council, registration cards of Barend Mozes Slagter, Henriette Slagter-Polak, of Mozes Barend, Rosetta, Florettha, Alida and Saul Joseph Slagter .