Reizel Araten was born 15 January 1871 in Warschau. She was the daughter of Mordechai Marcus Araten and Chaja Scheindel Silberman. She was probably married in 1889 or 1890 in Warschau to Menachem Mendel Zangen, who passed away already at the age of 36 years in 1904.
As far as has been researched, the Zangen couple had seven children, of whom the first one, Chana Lieba, was born in Warschau on 1 January 1891. After the birth of their first child, the family moved to Rozwadow, which was a thriving stettl before WW II and located in the district of Subkarpaten in the South-East of Poland.
Between the end of December 1891 and the end of March 1899 their other six children were born there, namely on 30-12-1891 Simon Mamcia; on 23-3-1893 Mirla Emilie; on 12-6-1894 Lewi Isak; on 10-3 1896 Adele; on 16-7-1897 Samuel Schachna and on 23-3-1899 the youngest, Israel Jacob. All members of the Zangen family arrived around 1920 in the Netherlands where they all stayed in Scheveningen.
Reizel Zangen-Araten and her sons Samuel Schachna and Israel Jacob were registered in the Peoples Registry of Den Haag during the Census 1920/1921 when they arrived from Vienna in Scheveningen. From 1 January 1921 they lived at Rotterdamschesteraat 6. On 6 June 1922 they moved to Middelburgschestraat 69 and on 25 September 1924, they went to Leuvenschestraat 21. On 4 December 1928 the address became Arnhemschestraat 80, where Reizel have resided until mid 1942.
Her son Samuel Schachna married 3 June 1925 in Den Haag to the Polish Chawa Hadassa Landau and on 3 January 1928 their son Mendel Saul Elias was born. On 21 May 1926 Samuel and his wife Chawa were naturalized as Dutch Citizens, reason why also their son had the Dutch nationality. They left 13 November 1928 for Antwerp but during the Holocaust they have been arrested eventually in France and deported from Drancy to Auschwitz with convoy 34 on 18 September 1942. The exact date of their death is not known. Their son Mendel Saul Elias Zangen survived the Holocaust and reported in 1947 in Antwerp.
Her other son, Israel Jacob moved in Scheveningen 13 July 1928 to Brugsestraat 2 and left there 30 December 1931 for Antwerp, Egelantierslaan 81. He was married to Anny Nebenzahl who was born 18 August 1908 in polish Kalwarya near Krakau. On 10 June 1926 both were naturalized as Dutch Citizens. Israel Jacob Zangen and his wife Anny Nebenzahl were both deported from Mechelen to Auschwitz on 10 October 1942 with convoy 12. This transport stopped at Kozel, were 356 competent labourers were selected for forced labour, and arrived afterwards on 12 October 1942 in Auschwitz, but it is not exactly known where and when both have lost their lives.
On 19 October 1942 the German occupiers ordered that large parts of the coastal area should be cleared. Reason was the construction of the Atlantikwall, the line of defense which should protect the Germans against an allied invasion. Thousands of houses were demolished and nearly 300.000 people were forced to evacuate from there. Also Reizel Zangen=Araten had to evacuate; she ended up at Scheldestraat 125 upperhouse in Den Haag.
From Scheldestraat in Den Haag, she was carried off 19 February 1943 to W3esterbork where she found herself in barrack 63. There, on 22 February, as shown in the notes on her registration catd of the Jewish Council, intensive efforts were made to prevent deportation. The Department of Emigration was asked whether the person concerned was registered for Palestine, with enclosures of copies of forms of registration and a telegraphic confirmation of the Red Cross.
Rush was needed but it was of no avail: on 28 February it was indicated that the matter was put to rest = “presumably already on transport” – and only on 16 June 1943 two Red Cross telegrams arrived from Palestine, that there has been applied for the certificates. On 25 June 1943 was concluded and taken down on Reizel’s registration card that further steps were aimless: Reizel Zangen-Araten was already put on transport 23 February 1943 from Westerbork to Auschwitz and on arrival there on 26 February 1942 immediately killed.
Sources among others: Municipal Archive of Den Haaag, family registration cards of Reizel Araten, Samuel Schachna Zangen and Israel Jacob Zangen; website Geni.com/Mendel Zangen; website geschiedenis van Zuidholland.nl; website Mémorial de la Shoah/Samuel Zangen; the Dossier of Foreigners of the City of Antwerp, no. 203693/Samuel Schachna Zangen and the Memorial of the Deportation of the Belgian Jews/Israel Jacob Zangen.