Maurits Hijmans was a son of Samuel Hijman Hijmans (1859) and Maria Salomon (1855). He was born in Amsterdam on 13 December 1889 and he worked as an office clerk and merchant. Maurits was rejected for service in the National Militia in November 1909 due to physical defects, for which he actually had already been assigned to the 7th Infantry Regiment in September 1908.
In July 1916, Maurits moved into Hartog's living space at Sarphatistraat 167 upstairs, from where he returned to his parental home in January 1917. However, on 2 October 1918, the still unmarried Maurits moved to Rotterdam, where he found accommodation at Kruiskade 146a with the widow Entink who lived at 146b. Maurits also worked as an office clerk in Rotterdam.
On 10 February 1923, Kitty Lemans also came to Rotterdam, whom Maurits had married in Amsterdam on 8 February 1923. Kitty Lemans was a daughter of Joseph Ephraim Lemans and Mietje van Polen. She had a good education of 3 years HBS, French Commercial Correspondence, Shorthand French and Dutch and Accounting.
After a number of moves, Maurits ended up at Henegouwerlaan 24b on 4 September 1922, where the Hijmans-Lemans couple lived for a short time after their marriage. On 6 March 1923, they moved to Graaf Florislaan 11b and four years later, on 1 March 1927, to Persijnstraat 9a, a side street of the Heemraadssingel, still located in the center of Rotterdam.
Maurits and Kitty had two children, both born in Rotterdam; the first was Paul, who was born on 4 January 1924, followed six years later on 12 July 1930 by Mieke. Documents show, such as the registration cards of the Jewish Council and archive cards of the Amsterdam City Archives, that Maurits and Kitty lived with their two children at Persijnstrata 9a in Rotterdam until the end of January 1943.
Maurits Hijmans was well educated and had good jobs before the war. When asked about this during registration with the Jewish Council, the following was noted about his previous activities: “Railway and Shipping Company. Director of an import and export company in Wood Products, Director of Heat Technology and draft control, all after training at the 5-year Commercial School, accounting and mastery of the French, German and English language.
It is likely that, on the basis of the above, Maurits Hijmans was given a position at the JCB, the Jewish Central Vocational Training, as a carpentry and woodworking teacher, for which he received identification from the Jewish Council on 1 July 1942 with number 797, but not a “Sperre”, meaning not an exemption from deportation. Every Wednesday there were JCB consultation hours from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm in the Israelitic Orphanage at Mathenesserlaan 208 in Rotterdam
In the spring of 1942, Jews throughout the Netherlands were forced to move to Amsterdam. The exact date of the Hijmans family's move from Rotterdam to Amsterdam is not known; it is known that they were registered on 1 February 1943 at the address Pretoriusstraat 1, 1st floor in the Transvaal district of Amsterdam-East. Maurits Hijmans was then also appointed as 2nd caretaker at PIGOL. That building was used by the “KleRa”, the Clothing Repair Department and from September 1941 it became located at the M.B. Nijkerkschool. This school provided training in shoemaking, clothing making and photography (also part of the JCB).
At the start of the deportations in July 1942, Jews were called up for the so-called “Arbeitseinsatz” and probably also the members of the Rotterdam Hijmans family. However, Maurits and his wife and daughter were setted-back from deportation by the Jewish Council, on 8 August 1942 (“Zurückgestellt”), which however was only temporary. Yet it was not until March 1943 that they too were arrested in Amsterdam. However, their son Paul met a different fate.
Maurits Hijmans, his wife Kitty and their daughter Mieke were arrested at the end of March 1943 and taken to the Vught concentration camp on the night of 1 to 2 April 1943. They stayed there until 23/24 May of that year and were then sent on to Westerbork. They had to stay one night in barrack 61 before being transported to Sobibor the next day, 25 May 1943.
That transport was one of the largest deportation transports with a total of 2862 victims. Upon arrival on 28 May 1943, all deportees were murdered in the gas chambers of Sobibor, including Maurits Hijmans, his wife Kitty Hijmans-Lemans and their 12-year-old daughter Mieke. There were no survivors.
Sources include the City Archive of Amsterdam, archive cards of Maurits Hijmans, Kitty Lemans and of Paul and Mieke Hijmans; the City Archive of Rotterdam, family registration cards of Maurits Hijmans; Residence card Amsterdam Pretoriusstraat 1 with Maurits Hijmans and family; the file cabinet of the Jewish Council, registration cards of Maurits Hijmans, Kitty Hijmans-Lemans, Mieke Hijmans and Paul Hijmans; website ITS Arolson, camp cards Vught of Maurits Hijmans, Kitty Hijmans-Lemans and Mieke Hijmans; Masterscriptie Archival Sciences“Vermoedelijk op transport”, chapter “Zurückstellung to Sperre, by Raymund Schütz, page 34 e.o., edited update June 2011 and the website Jodentransporten vanuit Nederland.nl/25 May 1943