Emma Dekker was a daughter of Levie Abraham Dekker and Rebecca van Vliet. She married 16 September 1915 to the 47-year old widower of Lidewy van Leerdam, Isaias Berger from Osterwieck in Russia, a son of Izaak Berger and Golda Katzengold. Isaias Berger, who was also known as Joseph Berger, was a recruiter of sailors. In 1916 Emma and Isaias had one daughter together, named Rebecca but she was called Beppie.
Emma Dekker was born into a family with seven children. Her brother Elias died in 1929. Her brothers Abraham, Salomon (called Leo) and Jacob have survived the Holocaust, but her sisters Jansje and Johanna have been killed in the Shoah.
Isaias Berger passed away on 7 January 1923 in Amsterdam, aged 54 and has been interred as Joseph Berger in the Jewish Cemetery in Diemen on 9 January 1923 . Details of his burial: Field A – Row 61 and Grave 65. His widow didn’t marry again and lived at Weesperstraat 95 I in Amsterdam, when she was registered in Camp Westerbork on 19 September 1942. After three days, on 21 September Emma has been deported to Auschwitz where she has been killed immediately upon arrival there on 24 September 1943.
City Archive of Amsterdam, archive card of Emma Dekker, family registration card of Isaias (Joseph) Berger; website www.wiewaswie.nl and the file cabinet of the Jewish Council of Amsterdam, card of Emma Berger-Dekker.