Biography

About Sophia Cosman and he spouse Salomon Poons.

Sophia Cosman was the eldest of the three daughters of Aron Cosman and Abigael da Cunha. She was born in Antwerp on 29 July 1921 and had two younger sisters, Helena from 1924 and Simonne Clara from 1926. They lived in Borgerhout, Schiebroek, Amsterdam and after the divorce of her parents, presumably in 1939 in Amsterdam, she moved with her mother and sisters to Den Haag, Gerard Doustraat 33.

Sophia Cosman, who was a corset seamstress, married in Den Haag the locksmith Salomon Poons on 5 August1942, who was born on 29 September 1921 in Den Haag as son of Michel Poons and Eva Abram. After they were wed, Salomon Poons moved in with Sophia in the Gerard Doustraat 33. Their honeymoon however lasted only two weeks as on 19 August 1942 they both had reported or had to report in Westerbork for the so-called provision of additional work in Germany, the “Arbeitseinsatz”.

On 21 August they were both put on transport to Auschwitz, where they have arrived ±24 August. Whether they, and where they had been put to work then is unknown. Nor when they had lost their lives there due to the horrible conditions in the camp. Therefore, the Dutch Ministy of Justice ordered the Municpality of Den Haag after the war to draw up certificates of death for Salomon Poons and Sophia Poons-Cosman, in which has established that they have died in Auschwitz on 30 September 1942.

Sources include the City Archive of Amsterdam, family registration cards of Aron Cosman, archive cards of Aron Cosman and Abigael da Cunha; the Felix Archive of Antwerp, dossiers of foreigners of Aron Cosman; the website Bobbe/Poons; the file cabinet of the Jewish Council, registration cards of Sophia Poons-Cosman and Salomon Poons, the wikipedia website Jodentransoporten vanuit Nederland.nl and certificates of death made out in Den Haag on 20 October 1950, for Sophia Poons-Cosman deed no. C2776 and for Salomon Poons deed no. C2773.

All rights reserved