Isääc de Swarte was a son of Hijman de Swarte's first marriage to Louise van Dal. Hijman and Louise were married in Amsterdam on 25 November 1908 and on 14 August 1910, Isääc was born as the 2nd child out of this marriage. However, his parents divorced and the marriage was dissolved on 30 May 1930 and no more children were born from that wedlock.
Isääc was a merchant by trade. He traded in art. And in that capacity he married on 30 August 1933 to Lena Bak, who was born in Amsterdam on 1 September 1911 as the daughter of Joseph Bak and Saartje Peperwortel. Because of the later anti-Jewish measures that were introduced, Isääc's later profession was rag sorter.
After Isääc and Lena were married, they lived for a short time with Louise van Dal, Isääc's mother, who was divorced in 1930, at Rapenburgerstraat 16, 2nd floor-front, but moved into a house of their own at Korte Houtstraat 23 on 19 December 1933. After another eight moves in the city and a short stay of about 3 months in The Hague (Vaillantlaan 34), they ended up in October 1937 at President Brandtstraat 58 2nd floor in Amsterdam East. They had two children, viz. Louise on 13 March 1935 and Joseph on 25 January 1938, both of whom were born in Amsterdam.
On 20 July 1942, the note MIL was made on the Jewish Council cards of the de Swarte family. (Military). This meant a provisional exemption from deportation for Isääc, his wife and children. It goes back to the first "resets" in July 1942 (date stamped 20 July 1942). The Jewish Council then proposed a number of categories of Jews for postponement/exemption, including former soldiers, including KNIL soldiers and soldiers who fought for the fatherland in the May days of 1940. This initially led to actual exemptions of deportation, but soon no longer. (source Raymund Schütz).
On 26 March 1943, the family was arrested and taken to Vught concentration camp. Lena and her children Louise and Joseph were deported to Sobibor on 7 June 1943 with the so-called children's transport Vught via Westerbork (8 June), while Lena was the escort of her children. Upon arrival there on 11 June 1943, the 31-year-old Lena de Swarte-Bak and her children, the 8-year-old Louise and 5-year-old Joseph de Swarte, were immediately murdered in the gas chambers.
Isääc de Swarte was not transferred from Vught to Westerbork until 18 October 1943, from where a transport of 1007 people left for Auschwitz on 19 October. Isääc was among those who survived the selection on arrival there; he was one of 350 men destined for the coal mines of Jawischowitz or sent on to the devastated Warsaw Ghetto to clear debris.
Research by the Red Cross has already established at the time that, except in individual cases where this was known, it was not clear who was sent to Jawischowitz and who was sent to Warsaw. But it has become clear that the date of death for the men of the transport of 19 October 1943 from Westerbork, both of those who were sent to Jawischowitz and/or Warsaw, had to be set as 31 March 1944 at the latest.
After the war, the Dutch authorities determined, partly on the basis of the aforementioned investigation and witness statements, that Isääc de Swarte could no longer be alive after 31 March 1944. The Municipality of Amsterdam was instructed to draw up a death certificate for him, which states that he died (somewhere) in Poland on 31 March 1944.
Sources include the City Archive of Amsterdam, family registration cards of Isääc de Swarte, archive cards of Isääc de Swarte, Lena Bak and Louise and Joseph de Swarte; residence card of Amsterdam/Rapenburgerstraat 16; Municipal Archive of Den Haag/family registration card of Isääc de Swarte; the file cabinet of the Jewish Council, registration cards of Isääc de Swarte, Lena de Swarte-Bak and Louise and Joseph de Swarte; Publication Auschwitz IV by the Dutch Red Cross 1953/autumn transport 1943 to Auschwitz; website jodentransporten vanuit Nederland.nl and the certificate of death for Isääc de Swarte, register A88-folio 75. Nr. 438 dated 19 Oct. 1951.