Hendrik Frankfort was the second of the three children of Simon Frankfort and Lena van Kreeveld. He was born in Amsterdam on 5 October 1930, but the marriage of his parents did not last. When Hendrik was 6 years old in 1937, his parents divorced. Meanwhile, Hendrik had another brother Richard who was born in 1935 and he had already a 2-year older sister Rebecca.
After the divorce was granted on 10 June 1937, the three Frankfort children remained living with their mother Lena van Kreeveld; at first at Hofmeijrstraat 13 and since June 1938 at Retiefstraat 17 3rd floor in Amsterdam-East. Then there came also living in Simson Cohen Rodrigues, who was divorced from Mietje Berlijn in 1938; in April 1940 Simson married Hendrik’s mother Lena van Kreeveld.
Hendrik Frankfort however, was admitted in the Central Israelitic Psychiatric Hospital “Het Apeldoornsche Bosch” on 8 October 1941. Because Hendrik had divorced parents, the association Lesammeach Hajeled ánd mother Lena van Kreeveld were appointed as guardians for Hendrik.
The Apeldoornsche Bosch was a Jewish Psychiatric institution that was opened on 24 May 1909. On the location of this institution at Zutphensestraat 106 , also Paedagogium Achisomog was founded, an institution for Jewish children with educational difficulties and mentally retarded children. Both institutions were under control of the Central Israelitic Psychiatric Home Association. In 1926, the Lesammeach ha-Jeled Association (for the rejoicing of the child) was founded to help the children of Achisomog. These organizations provided gifts to children , organized parties and assisted in custody matters. There were 32 children in Achisomog in 1930 and this number rose to 82 in 1940. (Source: website Joods Amsterdam/Het Apeldoornse Bos (Dutch Language only)).
Initially it seemed that the nazis would leave the Apeldoornsche Bosch (Dutch language only), undisturbed, but on 20 January 1943, the “Ordedienst” (an auxiliary security force to keep order, consisting of Jews) of camp Westerbork appeared there and at the Apeldoorn station a freight train with 40 wagons was prepared. In the night 21 to 22 January all patients , among them also Hendrik Frankfort, and the staff who were not fled or hided, were taken with brute force to the waiting freight train and deported to Auschwitz, where they were immediately murdered on arrival there on 25 January 1943.This was also the fate of the 12-year old Hendrik Frankfort.
Sources include the City Archive of Amsterdam, archive cards of Hendrik Frankfort, Simon Frankfort and Lena van Kreeveld; the file cabinet of the Jewish Council, registration card of Hendrik Frankfort; the website Joods Amsterdam.nl/het Apeldoornse Bos and the Wikipedia website Het Apeldoornsche Bosch.