Levie Wennek, born 21 May 1904 in Amsterdam, was a son of Samuel Wennek and Marianne Schenkkan. Levie lived since his marriage on 31 March 1938 to Mathilda Kattenburg not at home anymore but at another address. She was a daughter of Henri Kattenburg and Engeltje Hijman. On 20 December 1938 they moved in a house in Pretoriusstraat 87 2nd floor in Amsterdam-East where on 8 March 1939 their son Samuel was born. On 23 January 1940 the family moved to Vechtstraat 125 1st floor in Amsterdam-South.
The family has tried to escape deportation by going into hiding. Still Levie and his wife Mathilda have been arrested at some point in 1943 and brought to Westerbork on 7 September 1943. That same day both were put on transport to Auschwitz, but not immediately killed in the gas chambers. Levie, together with another group of prisoners were deported to Warsaw to clear the area there of rubble of the devastated ghetto.
Levie Wennek eventually has lost his life in August 1944; the exact place of his death is unknown but probably, he died during a transport between Kutno and Dachau. His wife Mathilda was put on transport again from Auschwitz to Bergen Belsen as up from 1944, this camp became also a concentration camp for prisoners from other camps, who were no longer able to work. Mathilda Kattenburg lost her life in Bergen Belsen in April 1944. Their son Samuel survived the Holocaust by hiding.
Sources among others: City Archive of Amsterdam, archive cards of Levie Wennek and Mathilda Kattenburg; certificates of death, nrs 143 and 144 for Mathilda Kattenburg and Levie Wennek, death register year 1948, nr. 11- folio 25, dated 3 September 1948; website historiek.nl/Bergen Belsen; the file cabinet of the Jewish Council, registration cards of Levie Wennek, Mathilda Wennek-Kattenburg en Samuel Wennek and an addition of a visitor of the website.