Joseph Kokernoot, born 21 October 1904 in Amsterdam, was the 5th of the six children of Matthijs Kokernoot and Mietje Gompers. He was a dealer in haberdasheries but in the 1930s and in the early years of WWII, when products became scarce, he was a representative in surrogates. His father had died already at the age of 47 in 1911, but his mother and five sisters Frederika, Hendrika, Sophie, Sara, …