Jacob Cohen, born on 25 December 1898 in Amsterdam, was the second of the four sons of Philip Cohen and Mina Eismann. He married in Antwerp on 20 March 1923 the Polish/Russian Tilla Jocha Davidson. She was born in Lodz on 20 August 1901 as a daughter of Srol Davidson and Frome Wolkowiski. On 2 Marcvh 1924 their son Philip Joseph was born in Antwerp.
Jacob, his parents and sibs lived already in Belgium since 1910. They have lived at Carnotplaats 36 in Antwerp and in the Carnotstraat 168, but also in the Drinkstraat 27 in Borgerhout, where Jacob has lived till April 1923. Till then he was active as an commercial traveller but changed profession: he became a hairdresser. And before Tilla was married, she was a hairdresser too.
After the wedding, Jacob and Tilla moved to Wipstraat 5 in Antwerp, “where he ran a hairdressers salon for his own account”, and where also their son Philip Joseph was born. Jacob’s father Philip Cohen, a diamond polisher, passed away on 22 December 1935 whereupon his mother moved to Kleine Beerstraat 21 in Antwerp in March 1936. Jacob, Tilla and son Philip Joseph moved early October 1936 to the Prins Boudewijnlaan 324 in Wilrijk but on 8 January 1940 they were registered in Amsterdam at the address Burmanstraat 20 1st floor.
Philip Joseph, who has become a hairdresser too, was called-up in July 1942 for the so-called “provision of additional work in Germany”, the “Arbeitseinsatz” and he reported in Westerbork on 17 July 1942. On 21 July, together with another 930 others, he was put on transport to Auschwitz, where they arrived ± 24 August. On arrival there, Philip Joseph Cohen no doubt was put to work as a forced labourer but it is unknown where, nor when exactly he has lost his life and under what circumstances.
It is therefore that after the war the Dutch Ministry of Justice ordered the Municipality of Amsterdam to draw up a certificate of death for Philip Joseph Cohen, in which has been established that he has died in Auschwitz on 30 September 1942.
At the other hand, Jacob Cohen, together with his wife Tilla Joach Davidson were arrested during the large-scale round-ups of early October 1942 and carried off to Westerbork. From there, they were deported to Auschwitz on 30 October 1942. This transport, with over 650 other deportees, made a stop at Kozel, located ± 80 km west from Auschwitz, where 200 men between 15 and 50 years of age were forced to leave the train, to be subsequently deployed as forced labourers in the surrounding labour camps.
Those, who remained in the train were transported onwards to Auschwitz, among them also Jacob’s wife Tilla Jocha Cohen-Davidson. On arrival on 2 November 1942 there, she was immediately gassed in the gas chambers of Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Jacob Cohen on the contrary, most likely belonged to the group of 200 men who were deployed in forced labour in one of the labor camps in the Kozel region. However, it is unkown where Jacob finally has ended up and where he lost his life, nor the circumstances he had to endure. Therefore the Dutch Ministry of Justice after the war has ordered the City of Amsterdam to draw up a certificate of death too for Jacob Cohen, in which has been established that he has died on 31 March 1944 in Mid-Europe.
Sources include the Felix Archive of Antwerp,dossier of foreigners no. 155365 for among others Jacob Cohen; the City Archive of Amsterdam, archive cardsof Jacob Cohen, Tilla Jocha Davidson and Philip Joseph Cohen; the file cabinet of the Jewish Council, registration cards of Jacob Cohen, Tilla Jocha Davidson and Philip Joseph Cohen, the wikipedia website jodentransporten vanuit Nederland.nl and an addition of a visitor of the website.