Ruchel Waksman, born at Sandomierz in Poland, was a daughter of Leizor Waksman and Jisko Berman. 22 April 1936 she married Hartog de Vries in Amsterdam, a son of Leendert de Vries and Rachel Dreese. In September 1938 their daughter Ida was born; she survived the Shoah.
Ruchel Waksman arrived from Poland in Amsterdam 21 May 1928 where she has been registered at the address Amstelkade 29 IIIrd stock, where her brother Heinrich lived with his newly wed wife Henriette Fransman. Ruchel's brother, Karl Waksman, born in 1901, immigrated before the war from Poland in the USA. He founded a family there and passed away in Burbank (California) in 1990.
In September 1928 Ruchel moved to Reggestraat 11 and thereafter she moved again still seven times to other dwellings in Amsterdam, till she found housing 19 October 1935 at St. Antoniebreestraat 22, where the meanwhile widowed Rachel de Vries-Dreese resided with her family.
One year before, 12 November 1934, Rachel Dreese’s husband Leendert de Vries passed away and was interred in the Jewish Cemetery in Diemen. Three years later, 23 June 1937, Rachel Dreese married again to Benedictus Nebig, the widower of Sientje Grootkerk, who has died 2 January 1934.
Rachel Dreese and Benedictus Nebig lived together at Blasiusstraat 133 IInd stock. However, he passed away there 6 October 1942 and Rachel Dreese, being left behind and widowed again, lived there till she was deported 20 March 1943 from there to Camp Westerbork, where she had to stay in barack 69. 23 March she has been put on transport to Sobibor where upon arrival there she has been killed immediately 26 March 1943.
Leendert de Vries and Rachel Dreese had one son, Hartog, who married Ruchel Waksman on 22 April 1936 in Amsterdam. After their marriage, Ruchel and Hartog lived at Vrolikstraat 237 IIIrd stock, where 23 September 1938 their daughter Ida was born.
Ruchel’s spouse Hartog de Vries was a vendor and dealer of oddments and had a standing place at the street market at Waterlooplein from March till mid August 1935. Despite his profession was registered as newsboy, at the time of the registration of all the Jews by the Jewish Council up from January 1941, there was no mention of a profession listed at his registration card anymore. Per 1 March 1940 Hartog de Vries has been deregistered already from the Peoples Registry of Amsterdam, as he was taken in at “Het Apeldoornse Bos”, the Jewish psychiatric hospital at Zuphensestraat 106 at Apeldoorn. He was nursed there till the Germans 23 January 1943 the institution completely “emptied/denuded” and all staff and patients deported to Auschwitz. Together with many others, Hartog de Vries has been killed there, immediately upon arrival 25 January 1943.
After Hartog de Vries was taken in at Het Apeldoornse Bos, Ruchel Waksman stayed behind with her little daughter Ida at Vrolikstaat. 1 June 1942 she got this “job” with the Jewish Council at Nieuwe Keizersgracht 58 as “home caretaker”. So she was exempted from deportation because of function, (“gesperrt bis auf weiteres”).Through neighbors, there was found hidingplace for her daughter Ida, who thereby has survived the Shoah. Ruchel Waksman eventually ended up in Camp Westerbork, where she was put on transport to Sobibor 25 May 1943. It was a large transport which consist 2862 deportees. It is known that upon arrival of this transport, some tens of people were selected for work in Sobibor. From 8 persons signs of life were received but nobody of this transport has survived the Holocaust. Also Ruchel de Vries-Waksman was killed immediately upon arrival in Sobor 28 May 1943.
Sources among others: City archive of Amsterdam, archive card of Ruchel Waksman, Benedictus Nebig, Hartog de Vries and Rachel Dreese; family registration card of Leendert de Vries; website www.wiewaswie.nl; the file cabinet of the Jewish Council, registration cards of Ruchel de Vries-Waksman, Hartog de Vries and Rachel de Vries-Dreese; Transport of 25 May 1943 from the list of Jew transports from The Netherlands and the transportlist of 25 May 1943 from the book "Extermination Camp Sobibor".