Helena Henriques de la Fuente was the eldest of the six children of Jacob Henriques de la Fuente and Benvenida Engers. She was born on 11 April 1891 in Amsterdam and married there on 8 April 1915 the photographer Ruben Velleman, who was born in Groningen on 11 January 1894 as a son of Jesajas Ruben Velleman and Aaltje Noort. As far as could be researched the couple had no children.
After Helena and Ruben were married in 1915, Helena moved in with her husband, who lived already at Nieuwe Tolstraat 85 in Amsterdam. On 30 November 1915, they moved to Govert Flinckstraat 263 ground floor. At that address, also Esther Barnstein lived; she was the wife of Helena’s brother David Henriques de la Fuente. And when Helena and Ruben moved from Govert Flinckstraat to Amstellaan 87 on 16 July 1923, his brother-in-law Nathan van Delft moved in there: he was married to Helena's sister Sophie Henriques de la Fuente and had two daughters. And Helena’s brother Hijman, her old father Jacob and the father of Nathan van Delft, Levie van Delft lived there too.
Between September 1925 and March 1926, Ruben and Helena have resided at two other addresses in Den Haag and after their return in Amsterdam, they ended up again in the Govert Flinckstraat, but now in house nr. 310 1st floor. Then another six of seven relocations followd but per 1 August 1940 their address was Rivierenlaan 8 1st floor in Amsterdam-South.
Ruben Velleman was a photographer and photo editor with the magazine named Het Leven, an illustrated Dutch weekly, that appeared between 1906 and 1941 with a mostly sensational content, plenty room for gruesome murder cases, shocking sex scandals and spicy photo series of women in long bathing dresses. Therefore, it was often read secretly.
He possessed his school diploma MULO, diploma’s drawing education and First Aid. When the weekly Het Leven ceased to exist in 1941, Ruben managed to become a domestic aid and kitchen servant with the Central Israelitch Psychiatric Hospital “Het Apeldoornsche Bosch” in Apeldoorn. Ruben and Helena had moved to Apeldoorn on 8 April 1942 and Helena lived there at Hoogakkerlaan 71.
Ruben and Helena were “Gesperrt” – exempted from deportation by the Jewish Council for the time being, related to his job at the Apeldoornsche Bosch. They had high exemption numbers in the 94000 series, the actual Jewish Council exemptions. When on 22 and 23 January 1943 the Apeldoornsche Bosch was emptied by the Germans and all patients and staff were deported to Auschwitz, Ruben and Helena ended up in Westerbork that 22nd of January 1943.
On 14 September 1943 they have been deported from Westerbork to Theresienstadt in a transport of 305 deportees. This transport, with many German emigrants was first brought to Bergen-Belsen because of a crowded Theresienstadt. On 25 January 1944, 283 of them were transferred to Theresienstadt. From the “Gedenkbuch: Häftlinge des Konzentrationslagers Bergen Belsen” it appears that Helena and Ruben were imprisoned Bergen-Belsen too.
A post war note on the Jewish Council registration card of Helena Velleman-Henriques de la Fuente shows, that she was transferred on 4 October 1944 from Theresienstadt to Auschwitz. On arrival there on 6 October 1944, Helena was immediately muredered in the gas chambers of Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Also Ruben Velleman was transferred from Theresienstadt to Auschwitz, however, already some days earlier, on 28 September 1944. Ruben arrived in Auschwitz on 30 September 1944 but in the end he has lost his life in concentration camp Dachau.
Available Dutch Red Cross documentation shows (publication “Auschwitz VI” edited in 1952, page 55, incoming transport in the Dachau complex), that from Auschwitz two incoming transports in Dachau have arrived: one transport from 8 October 1944, which arrived in Dachau on 10 October 1944 and a transport from Auschwitz to Dachau of 18 January 1945, which arrived there on 28 January 1945. Due to missing documents and administrations it is unknown when and which transport it was that Ruben was sent to Dachau. Known is however, that he lost his life there on 20 February 1945.
Sources include the City Archive of Amsterdam, family registration card of Ruben Velleman, archive cards of Helena Henriques de la Fuente and Ruben Velleman; family registration card Den Haag of Ruben Velleman; Amsterdam residence card of Govert Flinckstraat 263; the file cabinet of the Jewish council, registration cards of Helena Velleman-Henriques de la Fuente and Ruben Velleman; website USHMM/Holocaust Survivors and Victims database; ITA Arolson/transport vouchers for Helene Velleman of 4 Oct 1844 Thersienstadt-Auschwitz and for Ruben Velleman of 28 Sept 1944 Theresienstadt-Auschwitz; wikipedia website jodentransporten vanuit nederland.nl; The Dutch Red Cross publication 1952 Auschwitz VI, pages 8, 54 and 120; website openarchieven/Helena Fuente cert.of death 1078 Civil Registry Apeldoorn dated 12 Oct 1951 and of Ruben Velleman death certificate 531 made out in Apeldoorn on 30 Jun 1950.