Jozeph de Vries was a son of Meijer de Vries and Mietje van Coeverden. He was born on 3 January 1897 in Coevorden and in the next year, in November 1898 from the Vierwindenstraat in Rotterdam he came to live in Amsterdam with his parents.
Jozeph de Vries, who earned his living as a variety show singer, married in Amsterdam on 3 January 1929 the non-Jewish widow of Joseph Boelen, Johanna Louisa Groos, who was born in Arnhem on 1 August 1896 as a daughter of Klaas Lodewijk Groos and Johanna Suzannan Catherina Grimberg. The marriage however did not last and was dissolved by divorce on 2 September 1938. There were no children born from this wedlock.
Since Jozeph was married to Johanna Louisa Groos, he lived in Amsterdam among others at Vechtstraat, Molenbeekstraat, St. Willibrordusstraat, Kloveniersburgwal and Amstel, but after the divorce he moved into living space at Rembrandtsplein 14 2nd floor.
On 18 January 1939, Jozeph de Vries married the second time, now to Hennie Groenteman, who was born on 5 July 1917 in Amsterdam as a daughter of Mozes Groenteman and Hanna Cohen. Hennie then moved in with Jozeph at the Rembrandtsplein. They had one son together, Marcel, who was born on 8 January 1940 in Amsterdam.
As a variety show singer, Jozeph and Hennie remained living in- and near their “working area”, at Rembrandtsplein, Wagenstraat, Thorbeckeplein and at Waterlooplein 41 1st floor, which would turn out to be also their last known address in the Netherlands.
Because Joseph de Vries undoubtedly hoped to stay together as a family with his wife Hennie and son Marcel, even if – since the deportations had started in July 1942 – they would be put to work in the “East” as a result of the so-called “Arbeitseinsatz”, the provision of additional work in Germany under police surveillance. They reported in Westerbork without being summoned and were deported to Auschwitz on 7 August 1942.
Upon arrival in Auschwitz, their 2-year old son Marcel de Vries was immediately murdered, but his parents, Jozeph de Vries and Hennie Groenteman were put to work in the camp, as expected. They arrived in indescribable circumstances and hardship. Where exact Jozeph and Henny were put to work is unknown, nor the exact date they lost their lives there.
Therefore, after the war, the Dutch Authorities have established, partly on testimonials of survivors and research, that Jozeph de Vries and Hennie Groenteman no longer could be alive after 30 September 1942. The Municipality of Amsterdam then was commissioned to draw up certificates of death for both in which was established that Jozeph de Vries and his wife Hennie de Vries-Groenteman had died in Auschwitz on 30 September 1942.
Sources include the City Arhive of Amsterdam, family registration card of Jozeph de Vries, archive cards of Meijer de Vries, Jozeph de Vries, Johanna Louisa Groos, Hennie Groentetman; wedding certificate De Vries x Groos; the file cabinet of the Jewish Council, registration cards of Jozeph de Vries, Hennie de Vries-Groenteman and Marcel de Vries and the website jodentransporten vanuit Nederland.nl.