Izak Kan, born 27 June 1886 in Goor, was a son of the draper and haberdasherer Natan Kan and Julia Meijers. He married at the age of 24 on 6 December 1910 in Gennep to the 25-year old Rachel Kaufman, a daughter of butcher Abraham Kaufman and Johanna de Winter. The couple had two children, namely Nico Albert in 1911 and Johanna Julia in 1913, who were both born in Goor.
Izak Kan was a merchant. He also travelled for Messrs. Disco, import and export. After being for some time in Berlin, he arrived 3 may 1930 in Rotterdam. His wife and children lived still in Goor but followed him to Rotterdam a few months later. They were registered there on 15 September 1930 and the Kan-family lived there among others at Adrien Mildersstraat, Beatrijsstraat and at Kruiskade.
On 24 December 1935, Izak Kan and his wife Rachel Kaufman moved from Rotterdam to Amsterdam and came living at Scheldestraat 127 1st floor. On 8 January 1936, also their daughter Johanna Julia came living in with them; from March 1935 till January 1936 she stayed at the Maria-Oord health centre in Gennep. Also Izak’s father Natan Kan came living in with his son in 1940, after his wife Julia Meijers had died in 1939, but on 14 May 1943, at the age of 86, Natan Kan passed away there. On 6 July 1942, the Izak Kan family moved again and was registered at the address Noorder Amstellaan 238 1st floor in Amsterdam-South.
In 1936 Izak Kan became owner of a dairy shop at Kuipersstraat 97 in Amsterdam and he was “exempted because of function” by the Jewish Council, reason why Izak and the family were exempt from deportation“ until further notice”. Partly due to his trips to Germany and his stay in Berlin, Izak Kan was also a translater of the Dutch-German language. His former occupation was described by the Jewish Council as a proxy holder.
Their son Nico Albert had been moved already on 6 February 1933 from Rotterdam to Groningen, was married in 1937 in Amsterdam to Hennie Vles but both were forced to move from Groningen to Amsterdam in March 1942. They ended up there at Roompostraat nr. 9. Nico Kan then became in charge of the production of provisons at Messrs I. Kan at Kuipersstraat in Amsterdam, as a result of which Nico and his wife too were exempt from deportation for the time being.
The Gravy- and Sause factory of Messrs Kan received permission in July 1942 from the rabbinate of the N.I.H.S. (Dutch Israëlitic Main Synagogue) in Amsterdam, to produce their products under strict conditions under rabbinical supervision. Many of Izak’s institutional customers have also stated in writing that they could not do without deliveries from Messrs Kan, because the foodstuffs would be of vital importance, such as the N.V. Hotel Restaurant Hiegentlich from Hoogstraat in Amsterdam, the Dutch Israëlitic Hospital in Amsterdam, the Portuguese Israëlitich Girls Orphanage “Mezon Habanoth” in Amsterdam, the Joodsche Invalide (Jewish Old Peoples Home) of Weesperplein in Amsterdam, the Central Israelitic Nursing (hospital) at Jacob Obrechtstraat in Amsterdam, to name a few. Moreover, the chairman of the Jewish Council, Mr. Abraham Asscher issued a so-called “indispensability statement” for him, whereby his business was classified as a “Jewish business” (Joods Lokaal).
In the end of May 1943, the Germans had cancelled all exemptions (”Sperren”). But it could have been possible that because of the “indispensability statement” of Izak Kan, that it took until early July till they too were taken to Westerbork. Johanna came in there on 10 July and stayed in barrack 97. Her parents were already registered a few days earlier, on 6 July 1943 and stayed in barrack 57.
Nico Albert kan and his wife Hendrina (Hennie) Vles were arrested during the large-scale and secretly prepared round-ups of 20 June 1943 and taken to Westerbork. On 13 July Izak Kan, Rachel Kan-Kaufman, Johanna Julia Kan, Nico Albert Kan en Hendrina Kan-Vles were put on transport to Sobibor where on arrival there on 16 July 1943, they all were immediately killed.
Sources include the Amsterdam City Archives, the family registration card of Izak kan, archive cards of Johanna Julia Kan; City Archive of Rotterdam, family registration card of Izak Kan; website openarchieven.nl/marriage Izak Kan to Rachel Kaufman and the file cabinet of the Jewish Council, registration card of Johanna Julia Kan, Izak Kan, Rachel Kan-Kaufman, Nico Albert kan and Hendrina Kan-Vles and additions of a visitor of the website.