Sara Mok, a daughter of Izaak Aron Mok and Jeanette Natkiel, married 9 August 1911 in Amsterdam the confectioner Andries van Embden, a son of Barend van Embden and Rebekka Ockersen. The couple had seven children, namely Barend, Jeannette, Izaak, Jacob, Rebecca, Jozef and Aron. All were killed in the Shoah, just like their parents.
After their marriage in 1911, the couple lived at Vrolikstraat 97 ground floor and the trade of Andries was described ad “biscuit shopkeeper”. In 1916 they moved to Koningstraat 38 1st floor and in September to Javaplein 27 3rd floor in the Indian Neighborhood in Amsterdam-East. In April 1937 followed their last removal to Retiefstraat 98 3rd floor, which became also their last known address.
Of their children, Barend, Jeannette, Izaak and Jacob were already married and did or did not have a family and lived at an own address in Amsterdam, but Rebecca (seamstress), Jozef (tailor) and Aron lived still at home with their parents.
Jozef and probably also Rebecca were arrested during the big raids of early October 1942. It appeared that they were already “missing” since 17 July 1942 and were wanted by the juvenile police of Amsterdam. Between 3 and 5 October, they were brought into Westerbork, from where Jozef was put on transport to Auschwitz on 12 October. On arrival there Jozef was selected as a “laborer” to perform in our outside the camp, where he eventually lost his life. However, the exact data and place of his death is unknown. It was therefore that after the war the Ministry of Justice ordered the municipality of Amsterdam to made out a certificate of death for Jozef van Embden, in which his date and place of death has been established as on 28 Februrary 1943 in Auschwitz.
Rebecca however was already three days earlier, on 9 October 1942 deported to Auschwitz and on arrival there on 12 October 1942 immediately killed in the gas chambers.
The youngest son Aron has been carried off to Westerbork already on 15 September 1942, together with his parents Andries van Embden and Sara Mok and from there put on transport to Auschwitz on 18 September. On arrival there on 21 September 1942 they were immediately killed in the gas chambers of Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Sources among others: City Archive of Amsterdam, family registration card and archive card of Andries van Embden; archive cards of Sara Mok, Barend, Jeannette, Izaak, Jacob, Rebecca, Jozef and Aron van Embden; the file cabinet of the Jewish Council, registration cards of Andries van Embden, Sara van Emden-Mok, Rebecca, Jozef en Aron van Embden and the certificate of death for Jozef van Embden, Reg.57-fol.52v-nr.304 dated 10 November 1950.