Biography

The fate of Leentje Delden-Ossedrijver.

Widowed from Jacob Delden since 17 December 1927

Leentje Ossedrijver was widowed from Jacob Delden since 17 December 1927. She was born on 23 November 1878 in Amsterdam as a daughter of Barend Ossedrijver and Debora Allegro. She married there Jacob Delden on 19 May 1897, who after his passing, was interred in the Jewish Cemetery in Diemen.

Leentje was the mother of ten children, on 22 August 1897 Debora was born; on 31 August 1899 Aron; on 30 April 1901 Rebecca and on 31 December 1902 Barend. On 13 November 1904 followed  Levie and on 29 January 1907 Alida was born. Thereafter still came Eva on 19 April 1910, Samuel on 23 December 1912, Salomon on 12 Februari 1916 and the last child was Maurits, born on 17 December 1918. All her children were married and most of them had a family. They were all murdered in Auschwitz or Sobibor during the Shoah

Leentje Ossedrijver lived with her husband, most of the time till October 1929 at various houses in the Korte Houtstraat in Amsterdam. After the passing of her husband in December 1927, Leentje moved on 19 December 1929 to the Ben Viljoenstraat 7 2nd floor in Amsterdam-East.

On 25 April 1942, Leentje moved in with Hartog Wijnschenk at Amstellaan 62 1st floor in Amsterdam-South, who, as a widower in a 2nd wedlock married her daughter Eva Delden on 29 May 1941 and with whom he had a son Arnold on 8 November 1942.

However, on 12 October 1942 Hartog Wijnschenk was arrested and imprisoned in the prison at Amstelveenseweg in Amsterdam and from there carried off to Westerbork, where he arrived at the 14th. A request of 14 October to get Hartog at home and present at the delivery of his fifth child, was declined on the 15th and already the 16th of October 1942, Hartog Wijnschenk was put on transport to the “East”. Eventually he lost his life on 28 February 1943 as a forced labourer in Malapane in Poland and he has never known his little son Arnold.

On 5 April 1943, Leentje Ossedrijver, her daughter Eva Delden and the 5-months old baby Arnold Wijnschenk moved in with her son Samuel Delden, who lived with his wife Sara Loos and three young children in the Christiaan de Wetstraat 33 1st floor in Amsterdam-East.

A decree of Rauter of 14 May 1943, which prohibited Jews to stay in Amsterdam after 21 May 1943, except those with a Sperre stamp of the “Zentralstelle”, resulted in mandatory report at Polderweg on 20 May 1943 for also Leentje Delden Ossedrijver, together with her daughter Eva Wijnschenk- Delden and her newborn grandson Arnold Wijnschenk, but also her son Samuel Delden, his wife Sara Loos and their children Rebecca Lena and Jacob Delden.

After arrival in Westerbork, that 20th of May, they were all accomodated in barrack 55 and all were put on transport to Sobibor on 25 May. Upon arrival there on 28 May 1943, they were all immediately murdered in the gas chambers.

Sources include the City Archive of Amsterdam, family registration cards of Jacob Delden, archive cards of Leentje Ossedrijver, Eva Delden, Hartog Wijnschenk and Samuel Delden; the file cabinet of the Jewish Council, registration cards of Leentje Delden-Ossedrijver, Eva Wijnschenk-Delden, Arnold Wijnschenk, Samuel Delden, Sara Delden-Loos and Rebecca, Lena en Jacob Delden; website “Het Geheugen van Oost/razzia 20 May 1943; website annefrank.org/alle Joden moeten weg uit Amsterdam and the wikipedia website jodentransporten vanuit nederland.nl.

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