Biography

The fate of Vrouwtje Cohen

Widowed from Emanuel Worms since 1926.

Vrouwtje Cohen, daughter of Hijman Leendert Cohen and Mietje van Furth, married on 15 October 1879 the disc sander Emanuel Worms, a son of Philip Hartog Worms and Rachel Eliazer Piller. Emanuel was born on 25 July 1858 in Amsterdam and died there at the age of 68 on 17 August 1926 and was subsequently buried at the Jewish Cemetery in Diemen. The Worms-Cohen couple had seven children.

Vrouwtje Cohen outlived her husband by over 16 years; she lived at Tugelaweg 49, where she came to live on 28 December 1926, four months after her husband's death. Their seven children were all born between 1892 and 1893 in Rapenburgerstraat, in the old city-center of Amsterdam. Then, in 1901, the family moved to Oosterparkstraat and in May 1907 to Vrolikstraat 295. They lived there for about 19 years.

Vrouwtje Cohen, at the age of 84, while still living on Tugelaweg, was arrested on 15 March 1943 and taken to Westerbork, where she was registered on the 16th and housed in barrack 85. On 23 March she was taken in a transport from 1250 victims in total and deported to Sobibor. Upon arrival there on 26 March 1943, she was immediately murdered in the gas chambers, along with all the other deportees. There were no survivors.

Sources include the City Archive of Amsterdam, family registration cards of Eanuel Worms, archive card of Vrouwtje Cohen, the Amsterdam residence card of Tugelaweg 49/Vrouwtje Cohen; website wiewaswie.nl/marriage 1879 Worms x Cohen; website www.steenarchief.nl/grave Emanuel Worms; the archives of the Red Cross/transports to Westerbork/transport list Amsterdam-Westerbork of 15 March 1943 page 5, serial no. 263; the file cabinet of the Jewish Council, registration card of Vrouwtje Worms-Cohen; Wikipedia website Jodentransporten vanuit Nederland.nl/23 March 1943.

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