Jacob Schilt, born 7 March 1893 in Amsterdam, was a son of Abraham Schilt and Rachel Dreese, who both were already deceased, respectivly in 1920 and 1921. Jacob Schilt was born into a family with in total 11 childreen: the first born daughter Debora died 2 August 1882, only 3 ½ months of age and was interred in the Jewish Cemetery of Zeeburg in Amsterdam. Of Jacob’s sister Debora (1884) is known that she has survived the Holocaust with her husband and daughter. Of his other siblings, Philip (1885), Lucas (1887), Marcus (1894) and Jonas (1899) nothing is further known. His other sibs, Rebecca (1883), Rachel (1886), Henriette (1890) and Willem is known that they were killed in the Shoah.
Before he was married, Jacob was already working as diamond polisher. In 1908 he left Amsterdam for Antwerp. However, he married in Amsterdam on 1 March 1922 Raatje Canes, a daughter of Levie Canes and Sara Roodveldt. As far as known, the couple had only one son, Louis, who was born in Amsterdam 2 November 1934. Because of his work in the diamond industry, Jacob travelled several times to Antwerp and back to Amsterdam with his wife and son.
After their marriage in 1922, the couple lived in the beginning at Danie Theronstraat 10 in Amsterdam but left for Belgium in 1927, where they lived in Borgerhout. On 2 September, they returned to Amsterdam where they ended up at Uithoornstraat 10. But 11 Novmeber 1938, the family moved again to Belgium where they then lived at Berkellaan 103 in Berchem. In March 1941, the family was back in Amsterdam, in Alexanderstraat 6, moved that same month to St.Antoniebreestraat 70 and 77 3rd floor, which became also their last known address.
From St. Antoniebreestraat, the family was carried off 29 September 1942 to Westerbork and already put on transport on 2 October to Auschwitz. This transport of 104 deportees in total, made a stop in Kozel, located about 80 km west from Auschwitz. There, 160 boys and men between 15 and 50 years were forced to leave the train, to be employed in the surrounding satellite camps of Auschwiz as forced laborers. Those, who remained in the train were transported onwards to Auschwitz, to be killed there. Raatje Schilt-Canes and her son Louis arrived in Auschwitz 5 October 1942 and on arrival they have been immediately killed.
Jacob Schilt, on the other hand, was used as a forced laborer and eventually ended up in the "Reichsautobahnlager Annaberg". There due to hardships and inhuman conditions, he lost his life on 30 November 1942.
Because only recently the death records from the labor camps Annaberg and Niederkirch have been found, including that of Jacob Schilt, the Dutch authorities have had a death certificate drawn up for Jacob Schilt already after the war, in which his official place and date of death is established as on 31 October 1943 in forced labor camp Schoppinitz near Katowice in Poland.
Sources: City Archive of Amsterdam, family registration card of Abraham Schilt, archive card of Jacob Schilt; website wiewaswie.nl/wedding Jacob Schilt x Raatje Canes; wikipedialist of Jodentransporten vanuit Nederland; the file cabinet of the Jewish Council, registration cards of Jacob Schilt and Raatje Schilt-Canes.