Biography

About Andries Vos and his wife Aaltje Bonn.

Andries Vos was a son of Hijman Vos and Lea van West. He was born in Amsterdam on 1 September 1883 and worked there as a cigar maker but later he was active as a diamond worker by profession. He married Aaltje Bonn in Amsterdam on 26 June 1907, a daughter of David Bonn and Femma Spijer. The couple had three children, namely Lea in 1907, born in Amsterdam and after their depart to Belgium, Stephania was born in 1909 and Emilius (usually called Emile), in 1911, both in Borgerhout.

The couple lived at Rapenburg 15 but moved to Rapenburgerstraat 51 after Lea was born in 1908. On 13 July 1909 Andries, Aaltje and their little daughter Lea left for Borgerhout, returned from there in Amsterdam in April 1916, but left for Antwerp again on 9 April 1923. After their return in Amsterdam on 6 March 1940, Andries and Aaltje were registered at the address Nieuwe Prinsengracht 92.

Of the three children of Andries and Aaltje, Lea and her family were murdered during the Shoah, Stephania and her husband were gassed in Sobibor but their children survived the Shoah and of the Emilius Vos family, the three children Andries, Izaak and Herman and his wife Rebecca Nabarro were murdered in Auschwitz; Emilius himself survived the Holocaust and died in 1999.

On 5 June 1943 Andries Vos and his wife Aaltje Bonn were arrested in Amsterdam and carried off to Westerbork, were they had to stay in barrack 63, waiting for their deportation, which followd on 8 June. They werd were put on transport to Sobibor and on arrival there Andries and Aaltje Vos were immediately gassed in the gas chambers there.

Sources include the Felix Archive of Antwerp, dossier of foreigners 1120#714 for Andries Vos from the Municpality of Borgerhout; the City Archive of Amsterdam, family registration card of Andries Vos and archive cards of Andries Vos and Aaltje Bonn and the file cabinet of the Jewish Council, registration cards of Andries Vos and Aaltje Vos-Bonn.

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