Samuel Godschalk was a son of Mozes Godschalk from Uithuizen (Groningen) and Rebecca Frank from Wouw (N.Brabant). He was born 2 February 1900 in Rotterdam. Samuel had two other sisters, namely Hendrika, also known as Henriette, who was born in Wouw on 25 March 1898 and Sara, who was born in Bergen op Zoom on 25 April 1902. Most likely they have survived the Holocaust.
In Februaty 1902, Samuel lived with his parents and sister(s) in Bergen op Zoom. They moved to Antwerp in June 1903, where they lived till August 1904. Then they moved to Oostende, where they stayed till mid 1912 and up from 1912 till 27 December 1922 they lived in Ghent. After 1922 Samuel came living again in Antwerp where he lived at Statiestraat 40.
Samuel was a commercial traveller and he was unmarried. On 21 November 1918 he has adopted the Belgian nationality in St. Amandsberg, but a letter from the Municipality of St. Amandsberg to the Mayor of Antwerp, dated 9 August 1923, reads “that Samuel Godschalk, born in Rotterdam on 2 February 1900, adopted the Belgian nationality here in compliance with article 6 of the law of 8 June 1909 by error and incorrect, which has to be set aside by verdict of the District Court, sitting in Ghent on 22 November 1922”.
After his declaration of nationality as Belgian Citizen had been declared as invalid, he has worked in Antwerp as porter and servant at the dance hall of Eugene Poeyer in the Offerandestraat 90, where he – as he stated – earned an average wage of 100 francs per week, which was sufficient to provide for himself. About his behaviour and morality nothing unfavourable was known.
It is not impossible, that Samuel Godschalk received an expulsion order from the authorities as a result of his incorrectly declarared Belgian nationality. By request of the authorities his passport had to be extended only till 1 October 1923 and on 1 October 1923 Samuel appeared to have left his last home address Lange Beeldekenstraat 253 in Antwerp without giving notice and without leaving a destination address. A few days later it was reported to the authorities of Antwerp that he presumably stayed secretly with his parents in Ghent. As a result of his furtive depart from Antwerp, Samuel had been officially evicted from the Belgian State by Royal Decree of 25 January 1925, and if he should return to the city, he had to report with the authorities to justify themselves.
On 15 February 1932 Samuel arrived in Den Haag. As profession he said to be a “traveller” and he stated his previous residence as “Paramaribo”, which means that Samuel apparently stayed in Suriname between 1923 and 1932. In Den Haag he stayed for a few months at Rijswijkseplein 13 but left the end of May 1932 for Rotterdam, where he found living space at Nauwe Marktsteeg 4. Afterwards, he has lived in at the address Van Borselenstraat 13b but on 21 June 1933 a note was made on his registration card of the Rotterdam Registry “undetectable” and he was officially unsubscribed per 27 June 1934.
On 8 July 1938 Samuel Godschalk appeared again, worked as night porter and appeared to have found shelter with the Salvation Army at Schiedammerdijk 47 in Rotterdam, however his last known address was Hugo Molenaarstraat 21 in Rotterdam.
On 29 July 1942, 2000 Rotterdam Jews received a call for the so-called “Arbeitseinsatz” (provision of additional work in Germany). The next day, on 30 July 1942 at six o’clock 1100 people reported at “Loods 24” (barrack 24). In twenty passenger wagons the were transported in the middle of the night to Camp Westerbork. Samuel Godschalk belonged to this first group and ended up on 31 July 1942 in Westerbork. On 3 August he was deported to Auschwit with another 1012 deportees where Samuel has been deployed as forced labourer, and presumably all other deportees too.
Samuel Godschalk lost his life there. Because it is not known which date exactly and where he has died, the Ministery of Justice ordered the City of Rotterdam after the war to draw up certificate of death for Samuel Godschalk in which has been established that he died in Auschwitz on 30 September 1942.
Sources among others: The Dossier of Foreigners of the City of Antwerp, nr. 106858; Municipal Archive of Den Haag, family registration card of Samuel Godschalk; City Archive of Rotterdam, family registration card of Samuel Godschalk; certificate of death V2-071m 1950/1668, made up in Rotterdam for Samuel Godschalk; website Loods24; the file cabinet of the Jewish Council, registration card of Samuel Godschalk and the Wikipedia website Jodentransporten vanuit Nederland and an addition of a visitor of the website.