Jacob Raphael Groen, born 11 August 1896 in Amsterdam, was a son of Aaron Groen and Jetje de Hond. His father died already 14 January 1922 in Amsterdam and was interred in the Jewish Cemetery in Diemen. His mother died 28 February1941 in “Het Apeldoornsche Bosch”, where she was hospitalized as a patient in the course of 1940.
Jacob was born into a family with in total eight children, of whom two have died as babies. His other siblings and he himself, were killed during the Shoah. Jacob was a diamond polisher and already before his marriage, he tried his luck in Antwerp. Up from September 1923 till 6 December 1923 he lived in the Tweelingstraat 36 and afterwards in Borgerhout, where he worked as diamond polisher with Messrs. Bosboom there.
On 24 December 1924 he married in Amsterdam Branca van Lochem, a daughter of Jacob van Lochem and Esther Rootveld. They had four children, namely Aäron (1926-1928), Herman (1928-1943), Jetje (1932-1943) and again an Aäron (1934-1944).
Jacob left Amsterdam again for Borgerhout on 10 January 1927 with his wife Branca and their on 23 January 1926 first born son Aäron. However there his son Aäron passed away on 7 November 1928 and he was interred in the Childrens Park of the Jewish Cemetery at Putte.
On 15 December 1928 their second son Herman was born in Borgerhout but the family decided to return to Amsterdam on 4 June 1930, where they came living in for a start with Branca’s brother Salomon van Lochem at 3rd Oosterparkstraat 73 3rd storey in Amsterdam-East. Shortly thereafter, they moved to Blasiusstraat 129 1st floor where their children Jetje and Aäron were born and on 22 Jun 1937 the family moved into a house at Kraaipanstraat 67 parterre in the Transvaal district of Amserdam-East.
Jacob’s wife Branca van Lochem however passed in Amsterdam on 13 September 1942 and the next day, the 14th of September, she was interred in the Jewish Cemetery in Diemen. Her three children and her husband were murdered in the Shoah.
The Jewish Council registration card of Jacob Raphaël Groen shows that he was in Westerbork on 30 October 1942 and deported to Auschwitz in October 1942. Therefore it is very likely that Jacob that same day of 30 October was put on transport with another 658 deportees, of whom 200 forcedly had to leave the train to be deployed as forced labourers in the surrounding labour camps of Auschwitz. But those, who remained in the train were transported onwards to Auschwitz, to be killed there.
Jacob Raphaël Groen also belonged to the group of 200 men who were forcedly taken from the train. It appeared only in 2015 that he eventually ended up as Jewish forced labourer in the "Reichs Autobahnlager St. Annaberg” in Upper Silesia in Poland. After the war, it was known that Jacob Raphaël Groen had not survived the Shoah, but not where, when and under what circumstances he had lost his life. Therefore, on order of the Ministry of Justice after the war, the Municipality of Amsterdam had drawn up a certificate of death for Jacob Raphaël Groen, in which was established that he has died on 31 August 1943 in Mid Europe.
However, during the research in 2015 in Poland to victims of among others the labour camp “Reichs Autobahnlager St.Annaberg” in Upper Silesia, several certificates of death were found, including those of Jacob Raphaël Groen. This document showed that he has died 27 December 1942 in labour camp St.Annaberg. On the death certificate is mentioned as an official cause of death as “gangrene and pneumonia” (Gangraen und Lungenentzündung).
By establishing the date of death of Jacob Raphaël Groen however, the official Dutch date of death and place of 31 August 1943 in Mid Europe is maintained, a juridical date and place established after the war by the Dutch Department of Justice.
Sources among others: the City Archive of Amsterdam, family registration cards of Jacob Raphaël Groen, Jacob van Lochem en Aäron Groen, archive cards of Jetje de Hond, Jacob Raphaël Groen and Branca van Lochem and the residence cards of Amsterdam a.o. Ruyschstraat 7 ; website akevoth/mokum/burial permits/branca van lochem; website het stenen archief/grave Aäron Groen; wikipedia website Jodentransporten vanuit Nederland.nl; the Dossier of Foreigners of the City of Antwerp, nr. 179231 image 811-815; the file cabinet of the Jewish Council, regisgtration cards of Jacob Raphaël Groen, Branca Groen-van Lochem, Herman Groen, Jetje Groe Aäron Groen and additions of visitors of the website and Edward Haduch, Kedzierzyn-Kozle (Poland), the death certificate of Jacob Raphaël Groen from the Peoples Registry (Standesamt) Annaberg.