Andries Ossendrijver was born 24 November 1891 in Amsterdam as son of Andries Ossendrijver and Hanna de Vries. He married Henriëtte Citroen on 31 July 1912 in Amsterdam, a daughter of Emanuel Meijer Citroen and Saartje van Huiden. The couple had three children, namely Emanuel in 1913, Andries in 1916 and Hanna in 1918. All have been killed with their families during the Shoah.
The City Archive of Amsterdam shows that Abraham Ossendrijver was a shipping manager by profession. At the time of the mandatory registration of all Jews by the Jewish Council in 1941, he was registered as a bookkeeper. But Abraham also has earned his money in the diamond industry as adjuster of rose diamonds.
After being married in 1912, Abraham and Henriëtte lived in Marcusstraat 17 parterre, a side street of Weesperzijde – from where they left in April 1913 to Lepelstraat 2 3rd floor and in August 1915 to Van Ostadestraat 295 2nd floor-right. There they lived till July 1928 and then moved into a house in Swammerdamstraat 68 2nd floor. On 31 March 1937 they moved again in the same street in Amsterdam to house nr. 40 3rd floor.
Their son Emanuel married 20 July 1942 Theodora Helena (Dora) Korijn, who was born in Rotterdam. Emanuel had a completed study in classic literature while she was Master of Law. Since 1937 she lived in J.J. Viottastraat 36 in Amsterdam and after 20 July 1942 – their marriage – Emanuel Ossendrijver joined his bride. Before, he lived at home in Swammerdamstraat 40 3rd floor. Both have been killed in the Holocaust: he somewhere in Poland on 31 March 1944 and she in Auschwitz on 22 October 1943.
Their son Andries lived at home with his parents. He was unmarried and worked as office clerk. According to his registration card of the Jewish Council, he was a “provision dealer” but since 1942 he worked as domestic aid and nurse in Rest Home Frank at Plantage Middenlaan 129. He had no exemption from deportation, but was taken to concentration camp Vught on 29 May 1943 where he stayed in barrack 8. With 300 other prisoners, he was transported on 17 September 1943 from Vught to Westerbork where he ended up in barrack 62 and on 21 September, together with another 600 deportees, they were all put on transport to Auschwitz. On arrival there on 24 September, Andries Ossendrijver was selected as a “labourer” and eventually he lost his live in Auschwitz on 29 February 1944.
Their daughter Hanna married Abraham Cardozo on 15 July 1942 but continued to live at home like he also stayed to live in his parental home in Meerhuizenstraat 6 1st floor in Amsterdam. Already on 21 July 1942 they were deported to Auschwitz and for both of them a certificate of death has been drawn up after the war in which their date and place of death has been established as on 30 September 1942 in Auschwitz.
Abraham Ossendrijver, who was working as a shipping manager, had been arrested during the big raids of early October 1942 in Amsterdam and taken to Westerbork, where he stayed in barracks 60 and 64. On 12 December Abraham was deported to Auschwitz where on arrival there on 15 December 1942 he was immediately killed.
His wife Henriëtte Citroen however was only registered in Westerbork on 20 May 1943. Even then a big raid was organized in Amsterdam – see among others the website “Het Geheugen van Oost”. Henriëtte Citroen had to stay in barack 55, till she has been deported to Sobibor on 25 May. On arrival there on 29 May 1943, Henriëtte Ossendrijver-Citroen has been immediately killed.
Sources among others: City Archive of Amsterdam, family registration card of Abraham Ossendrijver; archive cards of Abraham Ossendrijver, Henriëtte Citroen, Hanna Ossendrijver, Abraham Cardozo, Andries Ossendrijver, Emanuel Ossendrijver and Theodora Helena Korijn; the file cabinet of the Jewish Council, registration cards of Abraham Ossendrijver, Henriëtte Citroen, Hanna Ossendrijver, Abraham Cardozo, Andries Ossendrijver, Emanuel Ossendrijver and Theodora Helena Korijn en de website het Geheugen van Oost pages 38397 and 38098