Emanuel van West

Emanuel van West was the eldest of the three children of Joseph van West and Gracia Rodrigues Pereira. He was born on 13 March 1907 in Amsterdam and was usually called Willem. He was employed as window dresser in the fashion shop of Maison de Vries in the Kalverstraat in Amsterdam.

Willem married on 20 June 1934 in Amsterdam Esther Blitz, who was usually called Elly. She was born on 3 March 1908 i…

Huwelijk Emanuel van West (Willem) en Elly Blitz in 1935.

Privé collectie

The BJZ was a welcome distraction from everyday concerns for Jewish children. The BJZ tried to create a relaxed atmosphere in the few available and barely usable locations. Jewish youth leaders engaged the children in activities such as manual labor, music, folk dancing, and Jewish history. A lot was also done in sports. This met a clear need because Jewish children were not allowed to be members …

Jewish tradespeople such as bakers, hairdressers, butchers, fishmongers, grocers, etc. received a special exemption (Sperre), so that the Jewish population could continue to use the tradespeople. As the number of Jewish residents of Amsterdam shrank due to the deportations, these exemptions were cancelled. On July 27, 1942, Meijer de Vries, the General Adviser of the Jewish Council, sent a circula…