Jetje Brandon was a daughter of Isaak Jacob Brandon and Rosa Groenewout. She was born on 13 April 1873 at Zandstraat 713 in Amsterdam. She married Mozes Mug, a son of Samson Abraham Mug and Henriette Elsas, on 17 November 1897; He was born on 10 July 1873 in Rotterdam and earned his living as a diamond cutter.
The family of Samson Abraham Mug had lived at Houtkopersburgwal 16 in Amsterdam since April 1887. The family consisted of twelve people, including Samson Abraham Mug himself (1845 Rotterdam), his wife Henriette Elsas (1846 Amsterdam) and her mother Betje (1823 Amsterdam) also belonged to the family, which further consisted of 9 children, who were partly born in Rotterdam and Amsterdam.
The Mug-Brandon couple had 6 children, all of whom were born in Amsterdam, namely: Samuel in February 1899, Isaac in June 1900, but he died already in October of the same year. Then came Abraham in May 1902, followed by Isidoor in April 1902. Rosa was born in November 1905 and lastly Jacob in September 1907. Only Jacob fell victim to the Nazis: he was murdered in Auschwitz on 22 January 1943.
From the beginning of August 1931 to the end of September 1936, Jetje Brandon and her husband Mozes Mug lived at Louis Bothastraat 35 in Amsterdam-East. During that period, Jetje's health was not going well: she was admitted twice to the Dutch Israëlitic Insane Asylum Het Apeldoornsche Bosch. The first time she was there for 3 months, from 11 August 1933 to 15 November 1933 and the second time she stayed there for 11 months, from 1 October 1934 to 9 September 1935.
At the end of September 1936, Mozes and Jetje moved to Uithoornstraat 18 ground level, where they lived in for fifteen months with David Duim. Then, on 24 December 1937, they moved into living accommodation with the Simon den Hartog family in the upper house of Valeriusstraat 24, from where Mozes Mug was apparently admitted to the N.I.Z., the Dutch Israëlitic Hospital, somewhere during the next six months. There he died on 8 June 1938, after which he was buried at the Jewish Cemetery in Diemen.
After the death of her husband Mozes Mug in June 1938, it once again became necessary for Jetje Brandon to receive psychiatric care. It is not known when, but it is certain that she left Valeriusstraat for Castricum, where also a psychiatric hospital was also located, one of the Provincial Hospitals in North Holland. In Castricum this was the Duin en Bosch Psychiatric Hospital.
Duin en Bosch also suffered from the Second World War: in 1940 a bombing took place by the Allies, who targeted German positions of the Atlantic Wall that were under construction. The Pavilion Women I (later called Hoograde) was hit; two women were killed and eight were injured.
But this bombing probably took place after Jetje Brandon had died on 20 June 1940. Her death was reported to the municipality of Castricum by the park keeper Gijsbertus Petrus Kappers, after which certificate of death no. 60 was drawn up for her on 21 June 1940 by the Municipality of Castricum.
Jetje's formal place of residence was nevertheless still Valeriusstraat 24, upper house in Amsterdam, whereupon the Municipality of Castricum informed the Municipality of Amsterdam about Jetje's death. On 27 June 1940, the Municipality of Amsterdam also drew up a death certificate for Jetje Brandon (no. 402 – year 1940, register 7-folio 68). Jetje Brandon was eventually interred in the Jewish Cemetery in Diemen.
Sources include the City Archive of Amsterdam, family registration card of Mozes Mug, archive card of Jetje Brandon, birth certificate from 1873 for Jetje Brandon; Amsterdam residence cards/Valeriusstraat 24 upper house; The Noord Hollands Archief, psychiatric hospital Duin en Bosch in Castricum; the Regional Archive of Alkmaar/death certificate no. 60 of 21 June 1940 made out in Castricum for Jetje Brandon and the certificate of death drawn up in Amsterdam for Jetje Brandon, no. 402 of 27 June 1940 from register 7-folio 68.