Abraham Aaron Zonligt, born 6 March 1882 in Amsterdam, was the seventh child of Alexander Zonligt and Leentje Saphier. He married 18 August 1910 in Amsterdam Sarah de Raaij, born 31 October 1876 in Islington-East in Greater London as daughter of David de Raaij and Jansje Diamant. The Zonligt couple had one daughter in 1912: Lena Jeannette, who survived the Holocaust.
Abraham Aaron had another eight siblings, of whom Mozes (1874) survived the Holocaust and passed away in Belgium; Jacob (1875) died still before the war in 1932; Hijman (1878) survived the war too and passed in Rotterdam in 1961. The others, namely Isaac, Elsje, Hartog, Levie and Salomon were all killed in the Shoah.
Abraham Aaron worked as shop assistant but during the war he was “carer for the poor”, a function at the Jewish Council, reason why he and his family were exempted from deportation untill further notice. Since 5 September 1920 they lived at Ruyschstraat 65 2nd floor in Amsterdam.
The daughter of Abraham Aaron and Sarah, Lena Jeanette Zonligt, was a typist but worked since June 1942 as assistant-nurse at Resthome Zonligt, which was established in Pythagorasstraat 18 ground floor in Amsterdam-East. This resthome was runned by the family of her uncle Levie Zonligt, who also resided there. Lena Jeannette was legitimized as assistant-nurse for municipal patients. According to details from her registration card of the Jewish Council, the has been previously exempted from deportation according No. 12/a 90399. By marriage she obtained the English nationality and received a new I.D. without an “exemption”. Her husband, Jacob Klein was an English citizen and interned in Germany but both survived the Holocaust eventually.
Abraham Aaron Zonligt and his wife Sarah de Raaij, were carried off to Westerbork on 25 May 1943 where they had to stay in barrack 62 till the date of their deportation, which followed on 1 June to Sobibor. On arrival there on 4 June 1943 they were immediately killed.
Sources among others: City Archive of Amsterdam, family registration card and archive card of Abraham Aaron Zonligt, archive cards of Sara de Raaij and Lena Jeannette Zonligt and the file cabinet of the Jewish Council, registration cards of Abraham Aaron Zonligt, Sarah Zonligt-de Raaij, Lena Jeanette Zonligt and Jacob Klein.