Barend Wurms, son of Meijer Wurms and Judith Waas, married 19 February 1896 in Amsterdam Schoontje van den Berg, daughter of Leendert van den Berg and Marianne Koord. The couple lived at Valkenburgerstraat in Amsterdam, where they have moved several times to other locations in the street. From 1903 till 1909 they lived at Foeliedwarsstraat but returned again afterwards to Valkenburgerstrat.
Barend and Schoonje had five children; two times a son they named Meijer but both children have died in childhood and were interred in the Jewish Cemetery Zeeburg in Amsterdam. In 1898 they had a son Leendert, in 1900 a daughter Judith and in 1909 a daughter Marianna; they all were killed all in the Shoah: Leendert Wurms was deported with his wife Henriette de Hond with Convoy XIII from Mechelen to Auschwitz; also Judith Wurms, her husband Abraham Rootveld and daughter Sientje were deported with Convoy XV from Mechelen to Auschwitz and Marianna Wurms, her husband Gompert van der Woude and their four children were put on transport 8 June 1943 from concentration camp Vught via Westerbork to Sobibor.
The profession of Barend Wurms was sanding down discs in the diamond industry and he decided to go to Antwerp, where he applied to the Governor of the Province of Antwerp for a residence permit and to provide for his own account. The family has moved already from Amsterdam to Antwerp in October 1923 and lived there at Statiestraat 15.
In Belgium, they resided in various places and addresses: from 11 October till 7 November 1923, they lived shortly at Berchem; from 7 November 1923 till 16 March 1929 at Van Immerseelstraat 11 in Antwerp; from 16 March 1929 till 30 April 1931 at Amethiststraat 27 and for a few months at Raafstraat 6 in Antwerp. Then Barend Wurms and his wife Schoontje van den Berg moved to Brussels South, where they resided at Fortstraat 8 at Sint Gillis.
Barend Wurms and his wife Schoontje werd deported 12 September 1942 with Convoy IX from Mechelen to Auschwitz. The Memorial of the deportation of the Belgian Jews reports about this among others: This transport consists of 1000 people, among them 228 children. The registration for this transport commenced after the raid in Brussels during the night of 3 on 4 September and consists entirely of arrested persons. The call system is definitely out of date. The average number of registrations at Mechelen has reached the lowest level between 5 and 10 September: just 26 persons per day. However, this transport still can be completed the 11th of September thanks to the raid on Jews in North France, that same day. The militairy police, who carried out the raid, has delivered 516 arrested Jews at Caserne Dosin in Mechelen.
The 9th convoy arrived in Auschwitz 14 September 1942, after a stop at Kozel, where 288 men were selected forhard labor in the surrounding satellite camps. Upon arrival in Auschwitz again 210 persons were “approved for work" in the camp. However at least 502 persons were gassed immediately upon arrival.
Given the ages of Barend Wurms (70) and his wife Schoontje van den Berg (72), it is almost certain that both belonged to the group who were killed immediately on arrival 14 September 1942. However, the Belgian authorities have established their date of death equal to the date of depart of the 9th convoy: 12 September 1942.
City Archive of Amsterdam, family registration card of Barend Wurms; the Dossier of Foreigners of the City of Antwerp, nr. 175136, image 722-734 and the Memorial of the deportation of the Belgian Jews, among others page 25.