Adolf Michel Jacques van Embden was born in Amsterdam, the Netherlands on 19th November, 1888. He was the son of Jacques Levie van Embden and Martha Michalski. Both parents were Jewish.
Adolf van Embden married Marie Frida (or ‘Frida’ as she was sometimes called) Buggisch, on 6th May 1919, in Berlin.
Marie Frida (born in Vienna, 19th September, 1893), was the daughter of Rachel Lea(h) Goldschmied (born in Klasno, Galicia/Poland, 1868, and from a Jewish family) and Fritz Buggisch (born in Berlin in 1871, into a German, Protestant family). (Fritz had been Christened as a baby). Rachel Lea and Fritz were married in Vienna, in 1892.
Adolf and Marie Frida moved to the Netherlands, where her husband was running a cinema company called (NV) Nebima. It was an important new film distribution company, bringing German films to the Netherlands. He was the owner and managing director of the company between 1919-1939.
There was growing anti-Semitism, with new difficult prejudicial legislation. Adolf van Embden was Jewish. Frida's father was born into a Christian family and Christened – perhaps she had kept some documents to prove it?
It was not uncommon for those in 'mixed marriages' (Jewish and non-Jewish) at the time, in the Netherlands, to divorce, in order that the non-Jewish partner might have a better life, and ultimately survive. On 22 August, 1940, the couple divorced. They had no children. On Marie Frida's gravestone, see photo, she keeps her married surname, and in fact uses that first. This seems proof that only for the Authorities at the time, were they divorced; likely living in separate accommodation to maintain the pretence.
Marie Frida clung to her 'Buggisch' name, from her father. She somehow managed to survive the holocaust, living in the Netherlands.
On 1st May, 1943, Adolf van Embden was captured and sent to Westerbork Larger, which was a transit camp. From there he was sent to the Dutch concentration camp Herzogenbusch. Prisoners arriving in 1943 were forced to work as slave labour, completing the construction of the concentration camp. Conditions were dreadful, with abuse / cruelty, lack of food, lack of clothing, and sickness amongst the prisoners. Adolf attempted an escape, but was caught. He was brutally punished for his ‘criminal offence’ of trying to escape, no doubt severely beaten / tortured.
In 1943, there is a concentration camp record stating that he was ill. This would of course mean, ‘too ill to work’, he must have been in a dreadful state.
As Allied forces were nearing the camp, prisoners were sent to other concentration camps (from September 1944, Herzogenbusch was no longer used).
Adolf was transferred to Bergen-Belsen.
In February 1945, Adolf Michel Jacques van Embden died, incarcerated in Bergen-Belsen.
Sources:
Yad Vashem database https://yvng.yadvashem.org/nameDetails.html?language=en&itemId=4234768&ind=1
original holocaust index cards from: https://collections.arolsen-archives.org/en/search/
genealogy web-page: https://www.genealogieonline.nl/en/stamboom-van-emden-culemborg/I368.php
Concentration camp details: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herzogenbusch_concentration_camp