Biography

The fate of the sisters Alida and Bloeme Vos.

Alida Vos, born on 19 May 1892 in Amsterdam as the eldest of the ten children of Isaäc Vos and Mietje Visser, and her sister Bloeme Vos, who was born as the sixth on 2 January 1901, lived since 31 May 1935 at Cilliersstraat 27 ground floor in Amsterdam-East. Alida was unmarried and worked as housekeeper and Bloeme was married on 2 October 1935 the non-Jewish Wijbe van Hoek. The marriage lasted not for long; three years later, on 8 December 1938 they were already divorced. Her ex happened to be married more times but also divorced again. Bloeme was his third spouse.

Their father Isaäc became the main tenant of the address Cilliersstraat 27 groundfloor per 31 May 1935 and some of his children lived in with him, like Alida and Bloeme, but also Barend, who in the end survived the Holocaust and in the late December 1945 lived in Mechelen (Belgium). But also Abraham and Joseph lived in with their father.

Most likely, Alida and her sister Bloeme have reported themselves for the so-called “Arbeitseinsatz”,  the provision of additional work in Germany. They were registered  in Westerbork on 15 August 1942 and deported to Auschwitz on 17 August, where they must have arrived ± 20 August 1942 and where they have been put to work as forced labourers.

Based on witnesses of survivors after the war and other sources, the Dutch authorities have established a date, on which it would be certain that the intended person or persons could no longer be alive. On orders of the Ministry of Justice, the City of Amsterdam has drawn up a certificate of death for Alida Vos, in which has been established that Alida Vos has died in Auschwitz on 30 September 1942.

Recently digital available are in some cases the so-called “Sterbebücher”(death registers) of Auschwitz, which show the real date of death, which is mostly another date than the one which is recorded in the official Dutch certificate of death. It appeared that Alida Vos already has been murdered in Auschwitz on 2 September 1942 but no entries were found in the death records of Auschwitz for Bloeme Vos; her date of death will be maintained as recorded in her official Dutch certificate of death.

At the same date of 1 September 1940, on order of the Ministry of Justice, the Municipality of Amsterdam has drawn up a certificate of death for Bloeme Vos too in which is established that Bloeme Vos has died in Auschwitz on 30 September 1942.

The website joodsmonument.nl however only mentions the dates of death as determined at the time by the Ministry of Justice and published in the Dutch Government Gazette.

Sources include the City Archive of Amsterdam, family registration card of Isaäc Vos, archive cards of Alida Vos, Bloeme Vos and Wijbe van Hoek; residence card of Amsterdam for Cilliersstraat 27 groundfloor; the file cabinet of the Jewish Council, registration cards of Alida Vos and Bloeme Vos; the website Memorial and Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau/Auschwitz Prisoners; the wikipedia website Jodentransporten vanuit Nederland.nl and the certificates of death made out in Amsterdam on 1 September 1950, nr. 505 for Alida Vos from the A-register 48-folio 86verso and for Bloeme Vos nr. 506 also from the A-register 48-folio 86verso.

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