Barend Barend was the third of the twelve children of Gerrit Barend and Heintje Visser. He was born on 4 May 1897 in Amsterdam and married there Sara Premselaar from Amsterdam, who was born there on 5 April 1897 as a daughter of Aäron Premselaar and Jette Koe. Barend and Sara had one daughter, named Jettie, who was born on 22 November 1929. When Barend’s younger sister Lena married on 20 November 1940 Joseph Polak, Jettie was one of the two bridesmaids.
After Barend and Sara were married in 1925 they lived for some years in the Vechtstraat 48 parterre. On 4 May 1928 they moved to Amsteldijk 125 downfloor, then on 18 February 1931 to Sarphatistraat 123 but already one year later, on 10 May 1932, they moved again into the house at Amsteldijk 125 parterre, from where they moved to the Ingogostraat 14 downfloor in Amsterdam-East on 14 May 1938. On the 3rd floor Barend’s brother Abraham with his family lived there already up from February 1927.
Barend started working as a framer, but after he was married, he became a greengrocer. He then ran a greengrocery and his business was classified by the Jewish Council as a “Jewish Business”, were Jews still were allowed to shop. Jewish tradesmen, who had a business which was classified as a “Jewish Business”, usually had special exemptions from deportation. However, Barend had no exemption or what-so-ever. This meant that Barend and his family could be called for the so-called “provision of additional work in Germany”, the “Arbeitseinsatz”.
In the night of 5 to 6 September 1942, Barend, his wife Sara and daughter Jettie were arrested, and at the same time also his brother Abraham and his family and both Barend families were carried off to Westerbork, from where they have been put on transport to Auschwtiz already the next day, on 7 September 1942.
This transport made a stop at Kozel, where 110 boys and men between 15 and 50 years of age werd forced to leave the train, who then were put to work as forced labourers in the surrounding labour camps. Those who remained in the train were transported onwards to Auschwitz to be killed there.
Sara Barend Premsalaar and her 12-year old daughter Jettie remained in the train, which arrived on 10 September 1942 in Auschwitz. Together with many others, among them also her sister-in-law Anna Barend-Naarden and her sons Isaäc and the 2-year old Barend Barend, they were immediately killed in the gas chambers of Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Barend Barend however certainly belonged to the group of 110 men, who were forced to leave the train at Kozel, just like his brother Abraham and his son Gerrit. And just like Abraham and Gerrit, also Barend ended up in labour camp Seibersdorf. There due to mistreatment, inhumane circumstances and/or diseases he lost his life but it is unknown on which date exactly, Therefore, the Dutch Ministry of Justice after the war ordered the Municipality of Amsterdam to draw up a certificate of death for Barend Barend, in which has been established that he has died in Seibersdorf on 31 January 1943.
Sources include the City Archive of Amsterdam, family registration cards of Gerrit Barend and Barend Barend, archive cards of Barend Barend, Sara Premselaar; the file cabinet of the Jewish Council, registration cared of Barend Barend, Sara Barend-Premselaar and Jettie Barend; Amsterdam residence card of Amsteldijk 125, the wikipedialisting jodentransporten vanuit Nederland.nl and an addition of a visitor of the website.