Esther Katwijk was a daughter of Jacob Katwijk and Sara Gobes. She was born in Amsterdam on 28 January 1897 and remained unmarried. She worked as a seamstress in a fashion store, as a buttonhole maker and labourer with a button agent.
Esther was born into a family with already five children then, namely Betje, Bloeme, Mietje, Abraham and Rachel. After her birth, still Louis, Joseph and Alexander were born. Her father Jacob Katwijk passed away in July 1920 and her mother Sara moved from her then address Blasiusstraat 107 2nd floor to house no. 46 2nd stock.
Not only her mother lived there on her own, but also her brother Jacob Gobes, her sister Rachel with her husband Abraham Pront and son Zacharias, Eshter herself and up from 1927 also her sister Bloeme, who was married to Israel Jacobson. Israel Jacobson had a son from his 1st marriage to Wilhelmina Harms, named Benjamin Johan; from the wedlock with Bloeme was Rebecca born in 1918. All lived in with grandma Sara at house no. 46 2nd floor between July 1920 and May 1935.
As an unmarried daughter, Esther remained living with her mother and moved with her too. In May 1935 they moved into a house in the Tweede Jan van der Heijdestraat 18 2nd stock, then in June 1937 a house in the Andreas Bonnstraat 42 1st floor, where also her sister Mietje with her husband Theodorus Arie Lewis came living in and on 3 June 1938 they moved to Ruyschstraat 102 2nd floor. Since 8 May 1942, the address of Esther was Andreas Bonnstraat 42 2nd floor, her las known address in Amsterdam.
In the night of 16 to 16 February 1943, Esther was arrested and carried off to concentration camp Vught. She was a seamstress and no doubt that she has been put to work in Vught in one of the so-called labour commands. On 16 September 1943 she was transferred from Vught to Westerbork where she waited for her deportation in barrack 62.
It came on 21 September 1943, when she was put on transport from Westerbork to Auschwitz. Upon arrival there on 24 September 1943, she was immediately sent to the gas chambers of Auschwitz-Birkenau where she was murdered.
Sources include the City Archive of Amsterdam, family registration card of Jacob Katwijk, archive card of Esther Katwijk, residence cards Amsterdam of among others Blasiusstraat 46 2nd stock and Andreas Bonnstraat 42 1st floor; the file cabinet of the Jewish Council, registration card of Esther Katwijk and the website ITS Arolson, camp card Vught of Esther Katwijk.