Marianne Barend, usually called Marie, was the tenth of the twelve children of Gerrit Polak and Heintje Visser. She was born on 6 January 1911 in Amsterdam and before she was married, she worked as a packer in cigar factory. On 10 February 1936 she married in Amsterdam the merchant Marcus van Spier, who was usually known as Max and who was born in Culemborg on 6 May 1910 as a son of Jacob van Spier and Sopia Belia van Spier.
Marianne was very close with her elder sister Lena. And when Marianne and Marcus after their weddingday in February 1936 left for the Kamerlingh Onnesweg 64 in Hilversum, Lena followed some months later to Hilversum and stayed with them till she returned to Amsterdam on 7 July 1938.
The couple Max and Marie van Spier-Barend had one daughter, who was born on 28 March 1942 in Hilversum and who was named Sophia Belia van Spier. She was named after her grandmother of father’s side, Sophia Belia van Spier-van Spier, who was born in Culemborg in 1875 and who has passed away in 1928 in Hilversum.
On 22 April 1943, the Van Spier family was carried off from Hilversum to concentration camp Vught. There Marcus van Spier was deployed on 29 May 1943 at Moerdijk, a sub camp of Vught, and on 11 September he was sent from Vught to Westerbork, where he had to stay in barrack62. A few days later, on 14 September 1943 Marcus was put on transport to Auschwitz. That transport contained 1005 deportees who were all immediately killed upon arrival there on 17 September 1943 in the gas chambers of Auschwitz-Birkenau, among them also Marcus van Spier.
Marcus’ wife and little daughter, Marianne van Spier-Barend and Sophia Belia van Spier arrived also in Vught that 22nd of April 1943. There, Marianne was deployed as children’s nurse. But on 6 and 7 June 1943, all children were deported from Vught via Westerbork to Sobibor with the so-called childrens transport and on arrival in Sobibor immediately killed with their escorts.
Also the 1-year old Sophia Belia van Spier arrived that 7th of June 1943 from Vught in Westerbork with that big childrens transport, together with her mother, but the next day, they were NOT deported onwards to Sobibor. For unknown reasons, they have been taken off the transport list and they stayed behind that 8th of June 1943. They were more than a month in Westerbork before they yet were put on the last transport to Sobibor of 20 Juli 1943, where Sophia Belia and her mother Marianna Barend upon arrival there immediately were killed in the gas chambers on 23 July 1943.
Sources include the City Archive of Amsterdam, family registration card of Gerrit Barend; website ITS Arolson/camp cards Vught for Marcus van Spier and Marianne van Spier-Barend; the file cabinet of the Jewish Council, registration cards of Marcus van Spier and Marianne van Spier-Barend and Sophia Belia van Spier (1942); website traces of war/subcamp Moerdijk; certificates of death, made out in Hilversum for Marcus van Spier, nr. 750 dated 5 October 1951 and for Marianne van Spier Barend, nr. 583 and for Sophia Belia van Spier nr. 584, both dated 23 June 1950; the Wikipedia website jodentransporten vanuit Nederland.nl and information and memories of surviving members of the family.