The husband of Louisa van Geuns, Joseph Gokkes was born on 26 November 1898 as the son of David Gokkes and Rachel Rimini. He was the third of the five children in that family. His parents and his two older brothers, Jacob and Simon, then lived at Dijkstraat 16 in Amsterdam. Afterwards, two more children would be born, namely Esther and Benjamin. Only Esther died as a child of almost 6 years old in 1906. The other children, except Joseph, were murdered with their families during the Shoah.
Joseph was a traveling salesman by profession. And after he married on 13 September 1922 Louisa van Geuns, a daughter of Hartog van Geuns and Sophia Wallega, the family left for Belgium in December 1923, to build a life there. From Amsterdam's Vrolikstraat 89, they first ended up in Schaerbeek and lived at Rue d'Hoogevorst 29, but on 24 November 1924 they moved to Zendelingenstraat 13 in Borgerhout. Joseph Gokkes however eventually died in Berchem on 20 September 1938.
Louisa and her daughter Sophia returned to Amsterdam in October 1938 and initially found living space with Mrs. Elisabeth Houtkruijer at Gaaspstraat 44 2nd level. A few weeks later, on 3 November 1938, both moved to Leeuwenhoekstraat 7 first floor in Amsterdam East, which would also turn out to be their last known address in the Netherlands.
Sophia Gokkes was an office clerk. However, on 18 July 1942, she was called to report in Westerbork for the so-called “Arbeitseinsatz” (the provision of additional work in Germany under police surveilance) and was deported to Auschwitz on 24 July 1942 in a transport of 1000 deportees. It is unknown where she was employed, but the conditions there were inhumane and terribly difficult and harsh and her exact date of death was unknown after the war.
It was known from post-war research by the Red Cross and testimonies from survivors that the life chances of deportees were quite low. The Dutch Ministry of Justice therefore determined after the war that Sophia Gokkes could no longer be alive after 30 September 1942. The Municipality of Amsterdam was then instructed to draw up a death certificate for Sophia Gokkes, which states that she died in Auschwitz on 30 September 1942.
A number of years ago, however, the remaining administration of the Sterbebücher of Auschwitz (death indexes) showed that Sophia Gokkes was already murdered in Auschwitz on 29 August 1942. For the time being, only the legal dates of death are published on the Jewish Monument website, as determined after the war by the Ministry of Justice and published in the Dutch Government Gazette.
After her daughter Sophia was deported to Westerbork on 18 July 1942, the widow Louisa Gokkes-van Geuns got a job as an administrator at the Jewish Lyceum in Den Bosch per 1 August 1942. Her brother-in-law Benjamin Gokkes had been rector there since 20 November 1941, but unlike her brother-in-law, Louisa did not have a “Sperre”.
Louisa was arrested on 13 April 1943 and taken to Westerbork where she ended up in barrack 60. On April 20, she was deported to Sobibor, in a transport of a total of 1166 victims. Upon arrival there on 23 April 1943, Louisa Gokkes-van Geuns, together with all the others, was immediately murdered in the gas chambers.
Sources include the Amsterdam City Archives, birth certificate Joseph Gokkes no. 13605 from Amsterdam, year 1898 book 11-134verso; family registration cards of Joseph Gokkes, archive cards of Louisa van Geuns and Sophia Gokkes; the Dossier of Foreigners of the City of Antwerp File no. 1120-1039 of Borgerhout; Residence card Amsterdam/Gaaspstraat 44; Death certificate 211 of 1 September 1950 from the A-register 48-folio 37 for Sophia Gokkes; the archive of the Jewish Council, registration cards of Sophia Gokkes and Louisa Gokkes-van Geuns and the Wikipedia website Jodentransporten uit Nederland.nl.