Hennie Hetty van Rijs was the eldest daughter of Abraham van Rijs and Sophia Hegt. She was born in Leiden but moved with her parents and younger sister Dinah (Diny) to Heemstede at Timorstraat 31. Henny Hetty and her sister Diny went to school there, named the Voorwegschool. At that school and in their school class was also this daughter of the Klinkenberg family, Dineke. Henny Hetty, Dinah (Diny) and Dineke became big friends.
The summer holidays were always a kind of party for the Van Rijsjes. The Klinkenberg family encamped always for the whole summer holidays, i.e. six weeks near De Koog at Texel and the Van Rijs children were always allowed to participate. Dineke Klinkenberg’s parents sent the luggage always in advance by Van Gendt en Loos, which contained a number of cases with the tent for living, the tent for sleeping, cooking- and eating utensils, clothes etc. The family self usually took a taxi from Heemstede to Den Helder and there they took the ferry to Texel. Friends and acquaintances or family were always allowed to join the Klinkenbergs, also their servant girl came ánd their neighbour, Miss Rothstein, (also named Rothsteintje), who lived in a big house on the corner of Meer en Boslaan and Meerweg at Heemstede.
Research by the archive of Noord Holland showed that this Miss Rothstein must have been Fina Rothstein, born at Biolobzreg in Poland on 21 August 1894. She arrived with her father 20 February 1934 in the municipality of Heemstede at Meer and Boslaan 40; their previous domicile was Spa in Belgium. They were of the Jewish faith. Both had no profession. Her father passed away in Heemsted 27 July 1937 as widower of Malka Rotenberg. He was a son of Abraham Rothstein and Gietele Rubinstein, born 30 May 1864 in Biolobzreg too. Father and daughter had the polish nationality. There has been checked until 1960, whether a certificate of death for Fina Rothstein was registered in Heemstede, which was not the case. However, it was found in the Civil Registery of Amsterdam, due to Fina’s removals from Heemstede to Amsterdam in 1942: BS 1948, reg.14, folio 26 verso, certificate 152.
At the Joods Monument appears a Fina Brandlia Rothstein who is with great probability the same person as “Rothsteintje”. Clicking at the red coloured name Fina Rothstein enables you to open and read her story at the Joods Monument. Miss Rothstein obviously was twelve years older than Henny Hetty’s mother, which is difficult to see on pictures but in dealing with each other it did not matter at all.
It was Jews still allowed to travel until September 1941; since then it was Jews forbidden and that month also followed the so called “school separation”, the moment Jewish pupils were banned to separate Jewish schools. So the summer of 1941 was actually the last summer holiday where this was all possible.
When it was known that the Van Rijs family “had to leave” their home and residence, the Klinkenberg family received various items in custody with the intention that all of this could be returned after the war. To arrive at the Klinkenberg's address, the Van Rijs family was actually forced to make a detour as in their street also lived an NSB member and they were scared for betrayal.
Also Henny Hetty gave her favourite book, “De droom van een Herdersjongen” (the Dream of a Shepherd Boy) in custody with her big friend Dineke. Unfortunately, there has been no “return after the war”. Father, mother and both the Van Rijs girls were killed in Sobibor 4 June 1943.
Told by Mrs. Dineke Klinenberg (aged 86) 12 June 2017 to the editors of the Joods Monument, as well a written supplement by Mr. Hans Felius of the Noord Hollands Archve regarding “Miss Rothstein”.