Rebecca Busnach was born in Amsterdam on 18 August 1911 as the 2nd of the five children of Joseph Busnach and Margaretha van West. She married Simon Menist on 7 June 1939 in Amsterdam, who was born there on 16 January 1914. Rebecca and Simon had a daughter who was born on 9 August 1940, named Dolores Branca and who survived the Holocaust by hiding.
Simon Menist was a son of Meijer Menist and Branca van Rheenen. He had a 3-year younger sister Sipora, who was married to Isaac Wurms on 30 October 1940 and who lived in with her parents at Oude Schans 50 2nd floor. Also Simon lived there, at home with his parents, where his father supported his family not only as brilliant cutter, but mainly as dealer in bicycles and parts, dealer in radio parts and as an electrician.
Before Rebecca Busnach got married, she shortly lived by herself; she found living space at the Trompenburgstraat 113 2nd floor, subsequently in November 1938 at Amstelkade 47 2nd floor, after which she moved in again with her parents, who had been moved already in the upperhouse of Ruyschstraat 3. But after the wedding was concluded, Rebecca and Simon together found living space for themselves with Corn. J. Steenbergen at Roerstraat 18 3rd floor, after which they moved in mid May 1940 to Ruyschstraat 57 1st floor in Amsterdam-East, which would become also their last known address in the Netherlands.
At some point, after the birth of their daugther Dolores Branca, the young family decided to go into hiding, which did not end well for Simon Menist. During the large-scale raids of early October 1942, he was arrested and taken to Westerbork, where he was brought on 5 October 1942. He had to wait his deportation in barrack 60, which followed on 19 October 1942, direction Auschwitz.
The transport of 19 October 1942 was a direct transport to Auschwitz, without a stop-over in Cosel and which arrived there on 22 October. During the selection in Auschwitz, the then still 28-year old Simon Menist was picked to be transferred to the “Arbeits- & Konzentrationslager” (labor- and concentration camp) Monowitz, (aka Auschwitz III). There were located the plants of I.G. Farben, the Buna Works and Krupp Steel however it is unknown where Simon was put to work.
The post-war investigation by the Dutch Red Cross showed, that 123 letters “home” had been written by men of the transport of 19 October 1942. Of these 123 letters, 59 came from Monowitz and Simon Menist’s Jewish Council card stated, that a letter had been received from him on 18 January 1943 from Monowitz. The said investigation also showed that Simon Menist must have been alive on 18 January 1943. It is however not known, where, how and when exactly Simon Menist ulitmately lost his life.
The Dutch Authorities have post-war established, partly based on research by the Dutch Red Cross and testimonials by survivors, that Simon Menist no longer could be alive after 30 April 1943. The Municipality of Amsterdam then was commissioned to draw up a certificate of death for Simon Menist, in which was recorded that he has died in (the vicinity of) Auschwitz on 30 April 1943.
Rebecca Menist-Busnach and her little daughter were in hiding too. Most likely by treason, Rebecca was arrested in March or early April 1943 and taken to Westerbork on 8 April 1943, where she was locked-up in the penal barrack 66. Her little daughter Dolores presumably has been abandoned as foundling already in the 2nd half of 1942 and ended up as the foster daughter Dorothea de Kruijff in the Van Eeghenstraat 47 groundfloor in Amsterdam with the family of Johan de Kruijff. She survived the Holocaust.
But not Rebecca: she was put on what was called “penal transport” as a so-called “penal case” to Sobibor, and upon arrival there on 16 April 1943, she was immediately murdered in the gas chambers there.
Sources include the City Archive of Amsterdam, family registration cards of Joseph Busnach and Meijer Menist; archive cards of Rebecca Busnach and Simon Menist; Amsterdam residence cards with Rebecca Busnach/Trompenburgstraat 113 II, Amstelkade 47 II, Ruyschstraat 3 bhs and Roerstraat 118 III; residence card Amsterdam of Van Eeghenstraat 47 with the fictitious registration of the foundling and foster daughter Dorothea de Kruijf; the file cabinet of the Jewish Council, registration cards of Simon Menist, Rebecca Menist-Busnach and Dolores Branca Menist; the Dutch Red Cross publication Auschwitz volume III/page 77 and on – direct transports to Auschwitz/transport 19 October 1942 and the certificate of death nr. 36 from the A-register 115-folio 6 verso for Simon Menist,. Made out Amsterdam, 28 August 1959.