Mietje Oudkerk, a daughter of Emanuel Oudkerk and Jogeva Sloog, was born on 5 December 1879 in Den Helder. There she married the stock farmer Leon Salomon Beek on 28 August 1907, who was born on 1 November 1872 in Den Helder as the son of Willem Salomon Jacob Beek and Lea Rijnveld.
The Beek-Oudkerk couple had 6 children, namely Willem Salomon Leon on 16 January 1908, followed by Jogeva on 19 March 1909. Then came Lea on 19 May 1911, who died however after 11 weeks on 5 August 1911. Emanuel Leon was born on 24 February 1913, followed by again a Lea on 25 January 1915 and lastly Elsje Beek on 23 April 1916, all born in Den Helder.
According to the Population Register of Den Helder, it appears that the then 19-year-old Leon Salomon Beek settled in the Municipality of Den Helder on 23 April 1891 and came to live at Hartensteeg 11, located in the “Oude Den Helder” district, between Breestraat and Zwaanstraat. . Due to the construction of the Atlantik Wall, the Hartesteeg was demolished during the Second World War. Leon Salomon came from Koog a.d. Zaan and was a livestock farmer at the time.
After he married in 1907, he and his family moved to Laan 48 on 4 May 1918. Laan was a district in the northwest part of Den Helder located in the extension of the current Krugerstraat, ending in, among others, the Theodorus Rijkersstraat. The Laan district was also demolished during the Second World War by order of the Germans for the construction of the Atlantik Wall.
Leon Salomon Beek died on 5 July 1932 in Den Helder and was buried on 7 July at the Jewish Cemetery there. He then lived in the house at Laan 54. Leon Salomon was registered as a livestock farmer in 1891, as arable farmer/agriculturer in 1907 and on his death certificate from 1932 he is just listed as a farmer. His widow, Mietje Beek-Oudkerk was then 53 years old and continued to live in Den Helder until 1940.
Mietje Oudkerk moved to Kribbestraat 45, 1st floor, in Amsterdam on 11 October 1940, where she came to live in with her son-in-law Abraham Veerman, the husband of her daughter Jogeva Beek. Three of Mietje's nieces also lived there, namely: Vrouwtje, Reintje and Eva Oudkerk. Mietje continued to live with her daughter and son-in-law until 24 August 1942, but then moved to Van Eeghenstraat 44 II in Amsterdam-South, where her great-niece Esther de Haas, the wife of Barend Jessurun, lived.
After being arrested on the night of 26 to 27 January 1943, the then 63-year-old Mietje Beek-Oudkerk was carried off to the Vught concentration camp. She was registered there on the 27th, but was already sent to Westerbork the next night of 28 to 29 January 1943. There she was housed in barrack 58 on 30 January. On 2 February 1943, a transport with 890 victims headed for Auschwitz, of which Mietje Beek-Oudkerk was also part. Upon arrival there on 5 February 1943, everyone, including Mietje Oudkerk, was immediately murdered in the gas chambers of Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Sources include the Alkmaar Regional Archives/Den Helder Population Register/with Leon Salomon Beek; the Amsterdam City Archives, Mietje Oudkerk archive card; residence cards of Amsterdam Kribbestraat 45 I and Van Eeghenstraat 44 II; the fille cabinet of the Jewish Council/registration cards of Mietje Beek-Oudkerk; website ITS Arolson/camp card Vught/Mietje Oudkerk; wikipedia website Transport of Jews from Nederland.nl/transport 2 February 1943; website stenenarchief.nl/grave Leon Salomon Beek; the death certificate 193 of 6 July 1932 drawn up in Den Helder and an addition of a visitor of the website.