Rosette Porcelijn was the eldest of the seven children of Salomon Porcelijn and Rika Augurk. She was born on 1 June 1904 in Amsterdam and was a seamstress by profession. On 4 March 1925 she married there Isaac Loonstijn, who was born in Amsterfdam on 6 August 1901 as a son of Joseph Loonstijn and Eva Vos. At the time of his wedding, he was known and registered as a pastry chef, but later he earned his living as a vegetable, fish and fruit vendor. They had two sons, namely Joseph in 1925 and Salomon in 1929.
After Isaac and Rosette were married, they moved into a house in the Bethaniëndwarsstraat 1 3rd floor in the old city centre of Amsterdam. In 1928 they moved to Wagenaarstraat 48 2nd floor and via Blasiusstraat they arrived in 1937 in the Ruyschstraat 75 2nd floor in Amsterdam-East with their sons Joseph and Salomon, who were meanwhile born and in September 1939 a last relocation followed in the same street to house no. 90 downfloor.
After the summer of 1942, Isaac Loonstein had this special exemption from deportation from the Jewish Council, the so-called “Joodsch Lokaal Sperre” – the "Jewish Commerce Sperre”. As a vendor and peddler of vegetables, fruit and fish, he worked for what was called the “food distribution” and he received his Jewish Council I.D. with nr. B-1911. He worked for the Council in the vegetable distribution as a vendor, a conficant and cashier as described on his registration card. Also with the destignation of his business as a “Lok-Z” also his wife and children were exempted from deportation until further notice.
Their son Joseph was called up for the “Arbeitseinsatz on 26 May 1943 and was sent to concentration camp Vught, where he was deployed “at Splitter”, which was a reference to employment in the textile command. On 18 October 1943 he was deported from Vught via Westerbork to Auschwitz. The transport with 1007 deportees left from Westerbork on 19 October and upon arrival there on ±22 October 1943, the 16-year old Joseph was selected again for “work”. Unkown is where he had to work and when he lost his life. Eventually was established that Joseph Loonstijn has died in Auschwitz on 31 March 1944.
A few days after Joseph was called, also Isaac Loonstijn, his wife Rosette Porcelijn and their youngest son Salomon were called up for employement in “the East”. On 29 May 1943, after the Gemans had cancelled many exemptions and postponements from deportation, they ended up in Westerbork in barrack 64 and on 1 June they were deported to Sobibor. Upon arrival there on 4 June 1943, they were immediately murderd in the gas chambers.
Sources include the City Archive of Amsterdam, family registration card of Isaac Loonstijn and archive cards of Isaac Loonstijn, Rosette Porcelijn and Joseph Loonstijn and the file cabinet of the Jewish Council, registration cards of Isaac Loonstijn, Rosette Loonstijn-Porcelijn, Joseph Loonstijn and Salomon Loonstijn.