Jozef Lens was the second of the seven sons of Elkan Lens and Flora Kosman. He was born 19 November 1894 in Den Haag and he was a typographer by profession. He married 30 November 1921 in Den Haag Margaretha Cachet, a daughter of Eliazer Cachet and Maria Ketellapper, both from Amsterdam. Just as the Lens family, also Margaretha was born into a family with five children, of whom she was second to the youngest. Jozef and Margaretha had three children themselves, namely Flora in 1922, Eliazer in 1925 and Elkan in 1927.
Afther their wedding in 1921 the couple lived at Van Limburg Stirumstraat 127 in Den Haag, but the family at least moved ten times afterwards. Their last known address in Den Haag was Geleenstraat 18, from where they have been also taken for deportation.
In the summer of 1942, the occupiers ordered that all Jews had to leave Den Haag, so between August 1942 and April 1943, most of the Jews from Den Haag were carried off to Westerbork and from there to the extermination camps. The first raids in Den Haag took place on 22 Augustus 1942. (source website Joodse Erfgoed Den Haag/Deportaties – only Dutch language available).
From the Jewish Council Archives it appears however, that the complete Jozef Lens family (man,wife and three children) were already taken to Westerbork on 20 August 1942 and put on transport to Auschwitz the next day, on 21 August 1942, where mother Margaretha Lens-Cachet and her youngest child Elkan, on arrival there on 23 August 1942 have been killed immediately in the gas chambers of Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Presumably, Jozef Lens and his children Flora and Eliazer were selected on arrival on 23 August as forced labourers, for work in- or outside the camp. At some point they have lost their lives but it is unknown where, under what circumstances and exactly when. Therefore the Ministry of Justice after the war ordered the Municipality of Den Haag to draw up death certificates for Jozef Lens, Eliazer Lens and Flora Lens, in which have been established that they have died 30 September 1942 in Auschwitz, a juridical date and place, established by the Ministry of Justice.
Sources include the Municipal Archive of Den Haag, family registration cards of Jozef Lens, Elkan Lens and Eliazer Cachet; the file cabinet of the Jewish Council, registration cards of Jozef Lens, Margaretha Lens-Cachet, and Flora, Eliazer and Elkan Lens; website Joods Erfgoed Den Haag/Deportaties and the wikipedia website listing jodentransporten vanuit Nederland.nl, de Certificates of death from Den Haag for Jozef Lens C 2658 dated 13 Oct 1950, Flora Lens C2651 dated 13 Oct 1950, Eliazer Lens C2590 dated 6 Oct 1950, Margaretha Lens-Cachet C2649 dated 13 Oct 1950 and of Elkan Lens C2591 dated 6 Oct 1950.