Levie Delden was a son of Jacob Delden and Leentje Ossedrijver. He was the fifth of their ten children and was born on 13 November 1904 in Amsterdam, Except his father, who had died already in 1927, all his siblings and their families as well his mother were murdered during the Shoah. To earn a living, Levie Delden was a fruit seller from the cart: he was a peddler.
At the still young age of 19 years, Levie married the 18-year old Leentje Barmhartigheid on 17 September 1924, who was born on 29 December 1905 in Amsterdam as a daughter of Abraham Barmhartigheid and Vogeltje van Logem. Levie and Leentje had three children, namely Vogelina, who was born on 16 November 1924 whereafter Abraham came on 1 June 1926 and on 22 January 1931 Debora followed, all born in Amsterdam.
After being married, Levie and Leentje lived at Lange Houtstraat 21 1st floor in Amsterdam but moved already on 3 March 1925 to the Zwanenburgwal 2nd stock-frontside. In the following years seven more relocations have been registered when they arrived in February 1934 in the Ben Viljoenstraat 24 1st floor. Levie and Leentje and their three children have lived there till they were arrested there and carried off to Westerbork.
That took place mid-July 1942, when the entire Levie Delden family was deported to Westerbork, where they were brought to already on 16 July 1942. On 21 July, Levie, his wife Leentje and their children Volgelina, Abraham and Debora were put on transport to Auschwitz, where they arrived on 23 July 1942.
Upon arrival there, Leentje Delden-Barmhartigheid and her youngest daughter Debora, only 11 years old, were murdered in the gas chambers of Auschwitz immediately on that 23rd of July 1942. Levie Delden and his 17-year old daughter Volgelina and 16-year old son Abraham however were put to work as forced labourers upon arrival in Auschwitz, under harsh and inhumane conditions. It is not known what kind of “labor” they had to perform and when exactly they have lost their lives there.
After the war, the Dutch Authorities have established, also based on testimonials of survivors and own research, that Levie Delden as well Vogelina Delden and Abraham Delden no longer could be alive after 30 September 1942. The Municipality of Amsterdam then was commissioned to draw up certificates of death for them in which officially has been established that they have died in Auschwitz on 30 September 1942.
Only for Levie Delden it appeared from the Sterbebücher of Auschwitz - the death records - that he has been murdered already there on 31 August 1942. Nevertheless, the Joods Monument only shows the official date of deaht of 30 September 1942. Of Vogelina and Abraham Delden no other dates of death were found in the death records there.
Sources include the City Archive of Amsterdam, family registration card of Levie Delden, archive cards of Levie Delden and Leentje Barmhartigheid; the file cabinet of the Jewish Council, registration cards of Levie Delden, Leentje Delden-Barmhartigheid, Vogelina, Abraham and Debora Delden; the death certificate of Levie Delden, nr. 471 dated 20 July 1950 from the A-register 42-folio 81 made out in Amsterdam; the website Auschwitz Prisoners/Levie Delden/Sterbebücher (death records) and the Wikipedia website jodentransporten vanuit Nederland.nl.