K.J. Dijkstra Profile picture

May 26, 2021, 7 tweets

(1/7) On 26-05-1939 Clara Velleman was born in Roermond. She was the daughter of Maurits (Max), a textile merchant, born 19-02-1907 and Rebecca Velleman nee Cardozo, born 01-06-1909.
Clara had 2 older sisters:
> Esther, born 11-05-1935
> Marianna, born 03-09-1936

(2/7) The family lived in Eindhoven in this house, on the Distelstraat 24.
The following story is from miss Bovenchen, who lived in the same street and played with the girls:

On Nr. 30 in this street lived a NSB-sympathizer.
(The NSB was a fascist party in the Netherlands.)

(3/7) That man knew there was a Jewish woman, with her daughter, hiding at the house of the Bovenchen family. But, the man did not bother the Velleman family, nor the Jewish woman in hiding.

(4/7) But on 11-10-1940 Maurits, and his family, decided that Amsterdam would be more safe. They would blend in with the crowd there as Amsterdam was a big city.
They moved into this house at the Pretoriusstraat 93 in Amsterdam.

(5/7) The parents of miss Bovenchen regularly traveled to Amsterdam to secretly bring food to the Velleman family. But one day the street was closed down by the Germans and the Velleman family was moved to Westerbork.

They were probably in Westerbork from 20-06-1943.

(6/7) On 29-06-1943 they were deported to death camp #Sobibor. They arrived there on 02-07-1943 and were almost certainly killed immediately.
The girls were 8, 6 and 4😢

The Jewish woman and here daughter, who had been hiding in the Distelstraat in Eindhoven, survived the war.

(7/7) This makes you wonder...
What if the Velleman would have stayed in Eindhoven???

But, we will never know....😢

Poor Clara, we will remember you, your mum and dad, Maurits and Rebecca and your big sisters, Esther and Marianna.😢💔🕯️✡️

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