Naftali Keizer (known as Naffie) was the son of Abraham David Keizer and Alida Polak. He was unmarried and lived in Meppel with his younger sister Rebecca. Until 1936 they lived in Woldstraat. In the early days of the war, they moved to the Heerengracht. Naftali Keizer was a textile dealer by trade. He had a little shop on the corner of Woldstraat and the Wheem in Meppel. He was also a pledgee for sales, weighmaster at the butter market and lottery ticket salesman. In 1905 he took over his father’s position as secretary and treasurer of the Israëlisch Armbestuur (Jewish Poor Relief Committee). In this role, Naftali Keizer helped many German Jews who came to the Netherlands as refugees after 1933, lending them assistance and providing them with the necessities of life. In September 1942, the house on the Heerengracht where Naftali lived with his sister Rebecca was requisitioned by the Germans. The two of them temporarily stayed with acquaintances on the Tweede Hoofdstraat. On 3 October 1942 they were arrested there and taken to Westerbork.
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Naftali Keizer died in Camp Westerbork at age 80 on 8 November 1942. He was buried at the Jewish cemetery in Assen on 10 November 1942.
Jewish Historical Museum, Documents collection, inv.nr 3397; Death register of the Jewish community Assen
This person is commemorated on a memorial in Meppel and on a memorial in Assen. More information on these memorials can be found (in Dutch) on the website of the Nationaal Comité 4 en 5 mei.