Alida Speelman, wife of Jacob Speijer, was born on 1 June 1911 in Antwerp as the daughter of Isaac Speelman and Esther van West. However, the marriage with Jacob Speijer, which was concluded in Amsterdam on 13 June 1934, was dissolved on 24 November 1941 in Amsterdam by divorce.
In the meantime, two sons had been born in their then hometown of Hilversum: Isaac Bob on 26 November 1934 and Robert Sem on 3 December 1935, but the family moved on 7 November 1936 to the Waverstraat 95 ground floor in Amsterdam.
Even before the divorce formally was registered, Alida and her eldest son Robert Sem left already for Den Haag on 15 January 1941, where they came live at Marktweg 68, located just behind the Hoefkade. Jacob Speijer and his youngest son Isaac Bob remained living in Amsterdam at the addresses Daniel Willinkplein 36 and Topaasstraat 18 1st floor.
The records on the registration cards of the Jewish Council of Jacob Speijer and his son Isaac Bob show that both were arrested on 19 May 1944 and carried off to Westerbork, where they were locked up in the penal barrack 67.On 24 May they were transferred to others: Jacob to barrack 85, where people who had been placed on the “Barneveld list” were also detained. The 9-year old Isaac Bob went to barrack 35, which was known as the “orphanage”.
Both were put on transport on 4 September 1944 to Theresienstadt, from where they ended up in Caux, Switzerland on 5 February 1945 via a “prisoner exchange” and thus survived the Holocaust.
Alida Speelman was diamant cutter by profession. On 6 August 1928 she was admitted as apprentice brilliand cutter at the ANDB (Diamond Workers Union) and learned the trade in the workshop of Mrs. L. Voorzanger-Roodvelt at Jan Steenstraat in Amsterdam. However, since Mrs. Voorzanger-Roodvelt left in the meantime to South Africa, she was not able to learn the apprentice Alida Speelman the trade. In April 1929 Alida received Dfl. 50,-- refunded. Afterwards, the worked and learned with M. Bosboom with Messrs. Boas.
From their residence in Den Haag, Alida and her son Robert Sem were carried off to Westerbork on 16 January 1943 to Westerbork. From there, they were transferred on 20 February 1943 to concentration camp Vught, which was still under construction at the time.
Alida Speelman and Robert Sem Speijer stayed in Vught till 2 July 1943. They they were sent back to camp Westerbork, where they were accommodated in barrack 65. On 6 July, both were put on transport to Sobibor and upon arrival there on 9 July 1943 immediately murdered in the gas chambers there.
Sources include the City Archive of Amsterdam, family registration cards of Isaac Speelman, archive cards of Jacob Speijer and Alida Speelman; the file cabinet of the Jewish Council, registration cards of Alida Speelman, Jacob Speijer, Robert Sem Speijer and Isaac Bob Speijer; membership card ANDB of Alida Speelman; website ITS Arolson, camp cards Vught of Alida Speelman and Robert Sem Speijer and the Wikipedia website Jodentransporten vanuit Nederland.nl.