The family consised of Mozes de Hes and his wife Alida van Berg, their son Abraham de Hes and his wife Marianne Soester and the unmarried son Benjamin de Hes. Two children survived the Shoah, namely: Max and Betsy, both of whom died in San Francisco in 1994 and 2001.
MOZES DE HES was a son of Abraham Mozes de Hes and Betty Beuth and was born on 3 September 1864 in Hoogeveen. Mozes de Hes became a religious teacher and married ALIDA VAN BERG, aged 25, on 17 June 1898 in Gorredijk, aged 33, daughter of Benjamin van Berg and Griete Meijers Schaap.
The De Hes-van Berg couple had five children, all born in Gorredijk, namely: Abraham on 25 May 1899, Margretha on 13 September 1900, who died after 7 months on 18 April 1901. Then Benjamin on 23 February 1902, Max on 27 June 1905 and finally Betsy on 17 April 1910. Max and Betsy survived the war; they both died in San Francisco (USA), Max on 14 June 1994 and Betsy on 26 October 2001.
As a religious teacher, Mozes de Hes worked and lived in Doetinchem, Smilde, Roermond, Gorredijk (for 23 years) and Vlissingen, after which he left for Bergen op Zoom with his family in 1926. There he was appointed religious teacher and cantor of the Jewish Community. When he was 70 years old in 1934, he was honored there with a Royal decoration.
On 21 May 1942, the De Hes family was forced to move to Amsterdam and Mozes then came to live with his wife Alida Reggestraat 5, 2nd floor in the River District of Amsterdam-South. Their son Abraham de Hes and his wife Marianne Soester also came to live at that address on 12 October 1942, and in the same year 1942, on 14 November their son Benjamin, who had been living in the River District since August 1938, also moved from Schipbeekstraat 19. 2nd floor to next door Kribbestraat 27 1st floor.
MOSES DE HES AND HIS WIFE ALIDA VAN BERG were taken to Westerbork camp on 30 September 1942 and deported to Auschwitz on 2 October with more than 1000 other deportees. In Cosel, approximately 80 km west of Auschwitz, 160 men between the ages of 15 and 50 were forced to leave the train to be put to work in surrounding labor camps. Mozes and Alida howeve were sent onward to Auschwitz with the other victims and were immediately murdered in the gas chambers of Auschwitz-Birkenau upon arrival on 5 October1942.
Their son ABRAHAM DE HES, who was married on 12 October 1939 in Amsterdam to the daughter of Meijer Soester and Lea de Vries, MARIANNE SOESTER, born on 23 June 1908 in Amsterdam. He was also taken to Westerbork together with his wife on 30 September 1942. Abraham and Marianne, who had no children, were both deported to Auschwitz on 5 October 1942.
In Cosel, 550 men had to leave the train; they were used as forced laborers in the surrounding labor camps of Silesia. Abraham de Hes was among them, but his wife Marianne Soester remained behind on the train and was transported onwards to Auschwitz, where she was murdered by gassing upon arrival on 8 October 1942.
It is not known where Abraham ultimately ended up and under what circumstances he lost his life. Partly thanks to the post-war investigation by the Red Cross, the Dutch Authorities have determined that Abraham de Hes died in Mid-Europe on 31 August 1943 (read also "More about the transport Westerbork ->Auschwitz of 5 October 1942").
Their son BENJAMIN DE HES from 1902, who was unmarried and supported himself as a florist, was called up for the so-called “Arbeitseinsatz” on 18 July 1942, but was briefly “Zurückgestellt” (postponed) from deportation by the Jewish Council on 20 July. But already on 24 July 1942, he was yet deported to Auschwitz. That transport with 1000 deportees arrived there around 27 July, where Benjamin was put to work there, but unknown where and when he lost his life.
The remaining “Sterbebücher” from Auschwitz, the Death Books or death indexes, showed a number of years later that Benjamin de Hes was murdered there on 3 September 1942. This was not known after the war to the Dutch Authorities, which - partly on the basis of post-war research by the Red Cross into the German concentration and labor camps - commissioned the Municipality of Amsterdam on 18 December 1952 to draw up a certificate of death for Benjamin de Hes. death, stating that he must have died after 19 August 1942, but no later than during September 1942.
Sources include the City Archive of Amsterdam, family registration cards of Abraham de Hes; archive cards of Mozes de Hes, Alida van Berg, Abraham de Hes, Marianne Soester, and Benjamin de Hes; Amsterdam residence card of Weesperstraat 11 1e etage; the file cabinet of the Jewish Council, registration cards of Mozes de Hes, Alida de Hes-van Berg, Abraham de Hes, Marianne de Hes-Soester en Benjamin de Hes; website Museum and Memorial Auschwitz-Birkenau/Auschwitz Prisoners Benjamin de Hes; the archives of the Red Cross, Publication “ “Auschwitz III” , the Cosel period, published October 1942//transport 5 October 1942 and the death certificate no. 21 dated 18 December 1952 from register 3, folio 9, 9verso and folio 10, made oud in Amstrerdam for Mozes de Hes and Alida van Berg, for Benjamin de Hes and for Abraham de Hes and Marianne Soester.