Mozes van Praag, (1866-1931), shoemaker, bread depot keeper and grocer, married Grietje Fransman (1867-1941) on 15 May 1889, and had six children with her, namely: Arnold on 11 April 1893; Leendert on 17 July 1895; Meijer on 2 March 1898, who died however as a baby on 19 April 1899, only 13 months old. Then there was Bertha who was born on 1 February 1900, followed by Debora on 11 August 1903 and Marianna on 6 September 1909.
After their marriage, Mozes and Grietje first moved into living space with Mozes's parents, whose family then still lived in the basement of Jodenbreestraat 73. But soon both moved to Roetersstraat 38, where their children Arnold, Leendert, Meijer and Bertha were born. After moving to house 11, Debora was born there and their youngest, Marianna came at Vrolikstraat 391. Mozes van Praag passed away there on 24 June 1931, aged 64; he was interred in the Jewish Cemetery of Muiderberg.
After the passing of her husband, the widowed Grietje van Praag-Fransman moved in May 1935 with her three unmarried children Leendert, Debora and Marianna van Praag to Biesboschstraat 50, where found lodging with Hartog Levee's widow, Anna Minden; removals followed in May 1936 to Tilanusstraat 15 ground floor and on 31 May 1938 to the Amstellaan 34 2nd floor. On that 2nd floor of house number 34 Amstellaan - later renamed to Stalinlaan and again later to Vrijheidslaan, a number of members of the Van Praag family lived there together.
The actual main resident was Jacob Levy, a son of Samuel Levy and Marianna Koort, and husband of Bertha van Praag. Jacob Levy was born on 7 July 1899 in Amsterdam but passed away there on 2 March 1938. His wife Bertha van Praag, who was born on 1 February 1900 in Amsterdam, remained behind.
Bertha van Praag and Jacob Levy were married on 12 December 1929 in Amsterdam and Bertha then briefly moved in with her husband at St. Antoniesbreestraat 96 2nd floor, but together, they moved into a house at Amstelaan 34, 2nd floor in Amsterdam-South on 29 December 1929.
Grietje van Praag-Fransman, aswell her children Leendert, Debora and Marianna van Praag then moved in with daughter, sister and widow of Jacob Levy, Bertha van Praag at Amstellaan 34 II on 31 May 1938. Grietje Fransman passed there on 18 February 1941 and was interred two days later a the Jewish Cemetery at Muiderberg.
Marianna van Praag married Barend Emden on 19 June 1940, after which Barend Emden too moved into the address Amstellaan 34 II, but both still moved on 23 February 1942 to Sint Antoniesbreestraat 2, 1st floor,.
Leendert van Praag, also one of the residents of Amstellaan 34 II since May 1938, managed to stay out of the hands of the Germans. He survived the Holocaust (most likely by hiding) and married Carolina Salomons, daughter of Meijer Salomons and Bloeme de Paauw, on 25 July 1945. As of 21 February 1946, they were able to continue living at the former and well-known address at Vrijheidslaan 34 II, the originally Amstellaan and renamed Stalinlaan, and their son Max van Praag was born there in 1947.
Bertha Levy-van Praag, Debora van Praag, Marianna Emden-van Praag and Barend Emden did not survive the Holocaust. They were arrested on 7 December 1943 as “Straffällige Juden, die im Zuge der Einzelaktion festgenommen wurden”, or in other words “Delinquent Jews guilty of criminal offenses who were arrested during an individual action”.
Because they remained hidden (were in hiding) and did not wear the mandatory yellow Jew Star, as well as being in possession of false identity cards, the following people, living at Amstellaan 34, 2nd floor, were arrested on 7 December 1943: Bertha Levy-van Praag and her sister Debora van Praag. Furthermore, Barend van Emden and his wife Marianna van Emden-van Praag, living on Sint Antoniesbreestraat 2, 1st floor.
The four of them were carried off in a penal transport to Westerbork on 9 December 1943, and upon arrival they were locked up in penal barrack 67. On 25 January 1944 they were deported to Auschwitz, where the three sisters, Bertha, Debora and Marianna after their arrival on 28 January 1944 were murdered directly in the gas chambers of Auschswitz-Birkenau.
Marianna's husband Barend Emden was sent from Auschwitz to the external command Günthergrube, an outer command of one of the factories of IG Farben and belonging to the Auschwitz complex, located near the town of Ledziny near Kattowice, where Barend lost his life due to hardship, diseases and/or abuse. His date of death was set after the war at 31 May 1944.
At the same time, Max van Praag was also arrested and sent to Westerbork and on 25 January 1944, sent to Auschwitz. He was a son of Arnold van Praag and Frederica Salomons and grandson of Mozes van Praag and Grietje van Praag-Fransman. See “The fate of Max van Praag”.
Sources include the City Archive of Amsterdam, family registration cards of Mozes van Praag (1866), Levy Emden (1868) and Barend Emden (1912); archive cards of Grietje Fransman (1867), Leendert van Praag (1895), Bertha van Praag (1900), Debora van Praag (1903) and Marianna van Praag (1909) as well of Barend Emden (1912); the file cabinet of the Jewish Council, registration cards of Leendert van Praag, Bertha Levy- van Praag, Debora van Praag and Marianna Emden-van Praag; Website stenenarchief.nl/grave of Mozes van Praag/record 28995 ;and grave of Grietje van Praag-Fransman/record 28996; Amsterdam residence cards of Biesboschstraat 50 II and Amstellaan 34 II; the archives of the Red Cross//S-transports “Straffälliger Juden” of 9 December 1943; the wikipedia website Jodentransporten vanuit Nederland.nl/transport 25 Januari 1944and the death certificate of Barend Emden at Güthergrube Poland, nr. 196 datedn 15 February 1952 made out in Amsterdam from the A-register 94-folio 26.