The Goubitz family moved to Rembrandtlaan 83b in Schiedam shortly before the war, and started a men’s clothing store, Hollandsch Kledinghuis. Goubitz was its owner and the branch manager of the Amsterdam wholesalers NV De Nederlandsche Kleedingmaatschappij. When the German occupation placed the shop in jeopardy, the following construction was thought up. A non-Jewish employee was taken on, who was prepared to enter into a secret agreement based on trust. In 1942 it became clear that the family would have to go into hiding, and plans were made. The family would hide in the country-house De Hoefslag, half-way between Bilthoven and Soest. On Sunday 19 July, the first day of the Germans’ large-scale confiscation of bicycles, the family decided to try to reach the hiding-place nonetheless. A cousin came to get them. The four of them then went on foot to Marconiplein in Rotterdam. Approaching the Witte Dorp, they removed the loosely-affixed stars from their clothing. They went by tram, which Jews had been prohibited to use by then, to Maas Station. They then took a train to Utrecht and changed trains, travelling onward to Den Dolder railway station. After that it was half an hour’s walk to De Hoefslag. Some time later the house was raided and the family was handed over to the local police at Soest. An inspector managed to get them a new hiding-place in the deaconesses’ hospital in Utrecht, where there were other people in hiding. When the shop assistant from Schiedam came to visit, the Goubitz family told him about the conditions of their stay. They spent part of the day in bed, locked in a room, and were dependent on the help of those who worked there. They had little contact with other people. In these conditions they had to absorb the reports of the war, both good and bad. There were health problems: Lea had diabetes and Izaak developed a heart condition. But they kept each other going, sustained by the caring nurses, who would always show them the babies that had been born. They also took heart from the slow but sure improvement in the position of the Allied forces. But there was also bad news. Goubitz told his visitors that he had heard reports of mass gassing. In April or May 1944 the Germans and their Dutch accomplices conducted a thorough search of the deaconesses’ Hospital in Utrecht. All the Jews were taken to the Hollandsche Schouwburg in Amsterdam to be transported to Westerbork transit camp.
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See for more information on this family:
B. van Bochove, S. Louis en H. Noordegraaf eds., Schaduwen over Schiedam. Gebeurtenissen en belevenissen tijdens de bezettingsjaren 1940-'45 (Schiedam 1995)
In addition, a Jokos file (number 50872) on this family is at the Amsterdam Municipal Archive. Access is subject to authorization from the Stichting Joods Maatschappelijk Werk.