Herman van Coevorden was a son of Abraham van Coevorden en Rozette Driels. He was born in Groningen on 19 July 1891 and was an accountant by profession. On 15 June 1926 he married Rebekka Levie in Zwolle, who was born there on 8 July 1897 as daughter of Benjamin Levie and Vrouwke Lievendag. Herman and Rebekka had two children, namely Abraham in 1927 and Hartog Benjamin in 1931. However a month after the birth of her 2nd child, Rebekka passed away in Amsterdam on 19 february 1931 and was interred the next day, even before shabat in the Jewish Cemetery in Muiderberg.
After their wedding, Herman van Coevorden lived with his wife Rebekka Levie at Nieuwe Prinsengracht 14 in Amsterdam, where both their children were born. After the passing of Rebekka, Herman moved with his children on 27 April 1933 to Zuider Amstellaan 201 1st floor. Later that year, on 21 December 1933, he married again to Martha Wijnberg, who subsequently came to live with him. Martha was born 24 December 1894 in Groningen as daughter of Jehuda Levie Wijnberg and Judik Aptroot and together they had a daughter born on 25 March 1937 named Henriette Rosette.
Herman van Coevorden was in possession of his diploma H.B.S. and diploma commercial accounting and had become an accountant, for which he had the required diploma’s too. Furthermore he was also examiner in the exams for the retailer’s or shopkeeper’s diploma. After the Germans had set up the Jewish Council in Amsterdam, Herman became there an appointment as an accountant at the General Secretariat, reason why he and his family were exempted from deportation for the time being.
As an accountant of the General Secretariat of the Jewish Council, Herman, his wife Martha and their eldest son Abraham were provided of a so-called Jewish Council stamp, a number between 80.000 and 100.000. Both the youngest children did not have such a number, they were already exempted from deportation “because being a child” and because of the function of their father. Herman, Martha and Abraham also had a so-called 120.000 stamp, which did not apply for children under fifteen years of age. This stamp was a provisional exemption for people who were deemed by the Germans to be able to hand in diamonds and other valuables for amounts ranging from 20.000 till even 40.000 guilders p.p.
On 26 May and 20 June 1943 large scale round-ups were organized by the Germans, whereby thousands of Jews were arrested, taken and carried off to Westerbork. For their nex raid, the Germans now made it easy or themselves. They ordered the Jews who were still living in Amsterdam-South, to move to the Transvaal district in Amsterdam-East. What that meant was not understood by many. Herman van Coevorden had moved from Zuider-Amstellaan to Tugelaweg 32 on 17 July 1943 but apparently did not trust the situation and may have attempted to go into hiding, which apparently failed.
Despite the fact that Herman van Coevorden was in possession of a so-called “Ausnahme Bescheinigung 170” which meant that he, his wife Martha Wijnberg and their three children as a result of that note “Au-Be 170” were exempted from deportation because they belonged to the “last group of 170 persons who had permission to function as Jewish Council”, he still ended up in Scheveningen prison then.
As far as it has become clear from the notes on Herman’s registration card of the Jewish Council, he ended up in Den Haag. The administration of the prison at Scheveningen showed that Herman van Coevorden was brought into the Oranjehotel (nickname for the Scheveningen prison) on 24 July 1943 and from there transferred to Westerbork on 31 July, where he was locked up in the penal barrack 67. His wife and children were already in Westerbork on 26 July 1943 and locked in there in penal barrack 67 too.
The notes on Herman van Coevorden’s registration card from the Jewish Council show, that when his wife and children arrived that 26th of July in Westerbork, he again has made efforts to escape deportation with his family by requesting a pedigree research. Up from 3 August descendancy papers has been requested and further notes read that research was pending and processed but on 12 August a document was handed out to Herman van Coevorden which stated that his request (Antrag) was denied. On August 23, a letter arrived from the person who examined the pedigree research of the persons concerned, stating: “further steps useless. Documents returned”.
Already the next day, on 24 August 1943, the entire Van Coevorden family was put on transport to Auschwitz, a transport of over 1000 people. On arrival on the platform (Rampe) of Auschwitz-Birkenau, only their son Abraham van Coevorden was selected for forced labor. All others, Herman van Coevorden, Martha van Coevorden-Wijnberg, Hartog Benjamin and Henriette Rosette were immediately killed in the gas chambers of Auschwitz Birkenau on 27 August 1943.
The 16-year old Abraham van Coevorden was put to work in Monowitz at the Buna Werke. His registration card of the Jewish Council shows, that he has been hospitalized there three times in the "Kranken Bau" the hospital of Auschwitz III. In the end, after being hospitalized the 3rd time, he has been sent back to Auschwitz after 21 December 1943 and eventually killed there in the gas chambers there on 21 January 1944.
Sources include: The City archive of Amsterdam, family registration card and archive card of Herman van Coevorden, archive card of Martha Wijnberg; the file cabinet of the Jewish Council, registration cards of Herman van Coevorden, Martha van Coevorden-Wijnberg, Abraham van Coevorden, Hartog Benjamin van Coevorden and Henriette Rosette van Coevorden; website meertens.knaw.nl/the Kingdom of the Dutch during 2nd World War pages 300, 307 en 742; NIOD regarding administration of the Oranjehotel Scheveningen; an addition of a visitor of the website and with gratitude to Mr. Raymund Schütz.