Biography

About Anna de Leeuw and her husband Hessel Leidensdorff.

Anna de Leeuw, born 1889 in Amsterdam as daughter of Levie de Leeuw and Rebecca Slier, lawyer and attorney, married 25 June 1918 in Amsterdam Hessel Leidensdorff, violist and musician and son of Meijer Leidensdorff and Clara Hammelburg.

After the wedding, Anna and Hessel lived at Marnixstraat 394 in Amsterdam in guest house Breed. 21 June 1923 they moved to Koninginneweg 105 and 3 years later, in 1926 to Brachthuizerstraat 2. 29 April 1936 they moved in at Stadionkade 40 3rd floor. As far as has been researched, Anna and Hessel had no children.

Hessel Leidensdorff was born into a family with five children, of whom only he himself  has survived the Shoah. The other siblings, namely Keetje, Rachel, Abraham and Joseph were killed during the Holocaust. His mother Clara Hammelburg was killed in Auschwitz 12 February 1943; Joseph’s father Meijer Leidensdorff passed away in Amsterdam already 16 February 1919 and was interred in the Jewish Cemetery at Muiderberg.

Anna de Leeuw was the only child of Levie de Leeuw and Rebecca Slier. Her father passed away 3 December 1900 and was interred two days later in the Jewish Cemetery at Muiderberg. Her mother died 24 January 1937 and she too was interred at Muiderberg 26 January 1937.

Anna de Leeuw and Hessel Leidensdorff belonged to the so called Barneveldgroep (Barneveld Group). They were interned 25 May 1943 in Kasteel de Schaffelaar (Schaffelaar Castle) at Stationsweg 2 in Barneveld. 29 September 1943 they were both transferred to Westerbork where they stayed in barrack 85. 16 December Anna Leidensdorff-de Leeuw died in camp Westerbork and was cremated 21 December 1943. The urn with her ashes was placed on the Jewish cemetry in Muiderberg on field U, row 3, grave nr. 2.

Hessel Leidensdorff eventually was deported 4 September 1944 from Westerbork to Theresienstadt. He survived the Shoah and returned in Amsterdam 6 June 1945. He remarried 28 June 1949 Marguerite Hoeschheimer, born 1905 in Colombes (France). She was widowed from Jacob de Lange (Elburg 1901 – Bergen Belsen 1945). Hessel and Marguerite lived till 1963 at Sarphatistraat 100 ground floor, where also in 1936 Rest home De Lange was founded, managed by Jacob de Lange’s sister Betje de Lange. 31 October 1963 Marguerite and Hessel moved to Naarden.

Sources: City Archive of Amsterdam, archive cards of Anna de Leeuw and Hessel Leidensdorff, family registration cards of Levie de Leeuw and Meijer Leidensdorff; the file cabinet of the Jewish Council, registration cards of Anna Leidensdorff –de Leeuw en Hessel Leidensdorff.

All rights reserved