Louis van Straten, butcher by trade, was a son of Samuel van Straten and his 2nd wife Maria Adriana van Straten. The 1st spouse of Louis’ father Samuel van Straten was Alexandrina Cohen to whom he was married 22 May 1863. However, she passed away already one month after the birth of their first child Elizabeth, on 14 July 1864. That same year, on 16 November 1864 Samuel van Straten remarried his cousin 1st degree Maria Adriana van Straten, a daughter of Salomon Mozes van Straten and Mijntje van Blijdestijn.
Louis van Straten was born into a family with in total 12 children. Of those, one child has been stillborn, one son survived the war and died in 1958 and three children died before the war in 1933 and 1938. Six children, namely Elizabeth, Jonas, Mina, Leentje Johanna and Louis van Straten himself were killed in the Shoah. Only his brother Salomon died in Apeldoorn on 8 June 1942.
On 6 July 1908, Louis van Straten married in Papenburg (Germany) Minna Hes who was born in Papenburg on 10 April 1877 as daughter of Joseph Meijer Hes and Jozephine (Sophia) Hes. The couple lived at Rumpt, municipality Deil, where their five children were born: on 10 May 1909 Samuel, usually named Semmy; on 22 February 1911 Sophia, on 3 September 1913 Marianne, always named Jenny, on 10 March 1916 Lina, who was called Liny and on 5 September 1920 Joseph; he was unsually named Jofke.
Samuel (Semmy), Sophia, Marianne (Jenny) and Joseph (Jofke) van Straten have survived the Holocaust Only Lina (Liny) was killed in the Shoah.
Before Lina arrived in Amsterdam, she lived for some years in Rotterdam, where she worked as domestic help. Since 1936 she worked as nurse in the Nederlands Israëlitisch Oude Mannen- en Vrouwenhuis at Nieuwe Kerkstraat 135 (a Jewish home for elderly) and at Nederlands Israëlitisch Ziekenhuis (N.I.Z.) at Nieuwe Keizersgracht 110 in Amsterdam (a Jewish hospital). On 28 October 1943 Lina was carried off to Westerbork where she stayed in barrack 67, a penal barrack. On 15 March 1944 she was deported to Bergen Belsen, where she lost her life on 19 November 1944.
Louis’ spouse Minna Hes passed away 25 January 1933 in Rumpt; she was interred in the Jewish Cemetery in Beesd. Three years later, on 5 June 1936, Louis van Straten, then aged 55 years, married again in Eindhoven to the 50-year old Catharina (Cato) Andriesse, who never had been married before. She was born 11 February 1886 in Veghel as daughter of Hertog Napoleon Andriesse and Elisabeth Levison and lived in Eindhoven, where she worked as domestic help.
Louis van Straten was a butcher and since March 1917 he was chairman of the Jewish Congregation Rumpt-Beesd. Per 27 May 1942 he was appointed as sub-representative of the Jewish Council. On 9 April 1943 Louis was carried off to concentration camp Vught, from where he was released at some point, which is confirmed by an annotation on his registration card of the Jewish Council.
It could be imaginable that Louis and his wife Catharina have tried to go into hiding, whereby they have probably arrested. Both were taken away to Westerbork on 9 November 1943 where they were locked in in the penal barrack 67. On 16 November Louis and Cahatina were deported to Auschwitz as “penal cases” and on arrival there on 19 November 1943 they were both immediately killed.
Sources among others: website wiewaswie.nl/births from Samuel van Straten and Alexandrina Cohen/Maria Adriana van Straten; website wiewaswie.nl/marriage Louis van Straten to Minna Hes; website hetstenenarchief.nl/grave Minna Hes; website openarchieven.nl/wedding Cathatharina Andriesse; the file cabinet of the Jewish Council, registration cards of Louis van Straten, and Catharina van Straten-Andriesse and an addition of a visitor of the website.