Hilde was the first of the three to come to Amsterdam; she arrived on 30th Octobre 1933 and starts to work as a house-maid for the family of Samuel van Maarsen at the Willemsparkweg 182 hs (hs means house, i.e. the ground level).
Samuel is probably half-Jewish: his father has a Jewish name, his mother a non-Jewish. Untill 1927 he lived in Paris where he married a French Christian woman, Eulalie Verlhac. They had two daughters, Christiane and Jacqueline. The latter was the best friend of Anne Frank ! Here is her website: http://www.jacquelinevanmaarsen.nl/ . And here is a clip where she talks (in Dutch) about Anne Frank: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRUBx0gCYXI .
After half a year, on April 11th 1934 Hilde moves to the Bachstraat 26 hs. Probably Hilde worked here as well as a house-maid. She lives there for more than 3 years.
On the 30th June 1937 Hilde goes to the Prins Hendriklaan 34 hs. In this house was Pension Oliva, run by a German woman Elisabeth Fröhlich, a divorced Berlinerin.
In this guesthouse live since 1934 Carl Kaufmann and his wife Justine Eugenie Waller. Carl dies in Augustus 1936. Mr. and Mrs. Kaufmann came from Frankfurt am Main and arrived on 4th May 1933 in Amsterdam. We don’t know when, but Hilde becomes the board lady of the widow Justine Kaufmann. Justine is already very old: she is born in 1855 in Cologne, so she was already 82 years old in 1937 !
Hilde and Frau Kaufmann move together to another Pension on the Jan van Goyenkade 16 hs on 31st May 1940. This Pension was also run by a Jewish woman, called J. Loeb. From here both woman left to the Courbetstraat 11 II, where Mrs. Neu was the owner. Her maiden-name was Helene Rosalie Kaufmann (born 7th August 1880 in Frankfurt) but I don’t know if she and Carl Kaufmann were family; a lot of people were called Kaufmann.
On the 5th of August 1942 Hilde and Hermann Haber marry in Amsterdam.
Hilde dies on 28th of September 1942 in Auschwitz, the same day as Hermann Haber, Frau Justine Kaufmann and Frau Neu. Bertha Meijer came with the next Transport to Auschwitz, she was murdered on the 5th Octobre 1942.
The places where Hilde has lived are all in Amsterdam-Zuid, either in the Museumkwartier or the adjacent Apollobuurt (neighbourhood). In both parts a lot of the wealthier Jews lived.
Some thoughts about the marriage between Hilde and Hermann
Why did Hilde and Herman marry ? They married on the 5th of August 1942; the string of persecution around them was already very tight, with razzia’s and persecutions on a daily basis. Many of their friends had already been caught and send to “the workcamps in the East” via Westerbork.
One reason could be that, with that constant and growing fear around them, they realized how much they loved one another and wanted to formalize that love. I have heard of people who are happily living together but who got married as one of them had a severe illness.
Another more practical reason could be that they hoped that their marriage would assure them to stay together in that workcamp in the East.
Joodsche Raad
On Hilde’s personal card is written that she was an worker for the Joodsche Raad plus a date: 22 Septembre 1942.
The Joodsche Raad ( in English : Jewish Council) started in 1941 after protests and uproar by Amsterdam citizens against the anti-Jewish laws ordained by the Nazi's. In the next two years, the Council was for the Nazi's a very helpful body to pass on all the laws and decrees against the Jews. Looking backwards we can say that the existence of the Council made it much easier for the Nazi's to exterminate the Jews. In other countries like Germany and Luxembourg there where councils like the Dutch Jewish Council. Working for the Joodsche Raad gave you (and your loved ones) a certain kind of protection: you were assured that you wouldn’t be transported to Westerbork, you were allowed to take the tram or possess a cycle. At one time there were 15.000 Jews who worked for the Joodsche Raad ! But, the Nazi’s could and did withdraw this protection. There was a moment when they decreed that the number of the people working for the Joodsche Raad had to be diminished with 3.000 ! These unlucky people at once where transported to Westerbork and the East.
Probably this is what happened to Hilde as well. Most likely she was an employee for the Joodsche Raad until 22nd September 1942. On her dismissal she and her husband lost their protection and were immediately sent to Westerbork and from there to Auschwitz. Counting backwards they hardly stayed in Westerbork: they were surely murdered upon arrival in Auschwitz (28th Septembre). The Transport from Westerbork to Auschwitz took about three days, so they surely left Westerbork on Friday 25th Septembre, leaving a maximum of three days in Westerbork.