Cornelia Alida de Bruin, usually known as Corrie, was the eldest daughter of the butcher Simon de Bruin and Hester Ligtenstein in Dedemsvaart, municipality of Avereest. She had an older brother Izaak Meijer and two sisters, Alida Paulina and Eva. They were all killed during the Holocaust.
In June 1928 Corrie de Bruin left Avereest for Amsterdam, were she provided for herself as day servant maid. She lived at Camperstraat 31 1st floor but moved 20 January 1932 to St. Antoniebreestraat 67. Afterwards she moved again three times, (1934 Molenbeekstraat 31 – 1935 Nieuwe Hoogstraat 9 – 1936 Oude Zijds Voorburgwal 145), before she was registered 7 December 1936 at the address Staalstraat 11 2nd Floor.
Cornelia Alida de Bruin married at age 27 on 17 March 1937 in Amsterdam the 50-year old shopkeeper Jacob Staal, a son of Emanuel Staal and Lea Wijl. The she moved from house nr. 11 to 13a, where she and Jacob had their son Emanuel on 24 January 1938.
On 26 November 1942, Jacob Staal, his wife Cornelia and son Emanuel were deported to Westerbork and put on transport to Auschwitz on 4 December. This transport included 811 deportees of whom nobody has survived the Shoah. On arrival 7 December 1942, all have been immediately killed, among them Jacob Staal, Cornelia Alida de Bruin and Emanuel Staal.
City archive of Amsterdam, family registration cards and archive cards of Cornelia Alida de Bruin and Jacob Staal; list of Jew-transports from the Netherlands; the file cabinet of the Jewish Council, registration cards of Jacob Staal, Cornelia Staal-de Bruin en Emanuel Staal and the the book “De Joodse Gemeenschap van Avereest”, pages 12 and 13, by Peter Makaske, published in 1992 by Servo Publishers, Adolph van Ansenlaan 16, 9451 GR Rolde (Drenthe). (ISBN 90-71918-44-0).