Mietje Maas, who was born on 13 December 1894 in Rotterdam as the second child of Philip Maas and Anna Suisman, married on 12 August 1925 in Rijswijk the non-Jewish Cornelis Johannes Theodorus van Delden. However, ten years earlier, on 30 October 1916, their son Philip van Delden was already born in Rotterdam.
Philip was recognized at birth: his certificate of birth- and recognition of 14 November 1916 from Rotterdam, was signed by both parents and read that “Cornelis Johannes Theodorus van Delden, aged 24, journalist, residing in Amsterdam, and Mietje Maas, aged 21, residing in Rotterdam, declared to recognize a child of the male gender, born 30 October of this year 1916 in Rotterdam, and registered in the registers of birth of this municipality, named as Philip, child of Mietje Maas.”
Mietje Maas was employed as a factory worker, but after the birth of her little son Philip, she left Rotterdam for Den Haag together with him on 6 April 1918, where she was getting busy as a variety artist. Mietje and her son Philip are living then at Hofwijkstraat 47, but they move regularly to other addresses.
On 14 October 1918, Mietje Maas has given birth in Den Haag to a daughter: the father was Cornelis Johannes Theodorus van Delden. She was named Hermina Maria Elisabeth Maas after her grandmother Hermina Elisabeth Maria Oomens. On 24 December 1918, Mietje left Den Haag for Rotterdam with her son Philip and her newly born daughter where they find “lodging” at Gedempte Botersloot 85b. On 15 October 1919 Mietje and Philip return to Den Haag, where Mietje starts resuming her profession as variety artist; her little daughter Hermina remained in Rotterdam.
Hermina is probably “visiting” her grandparents Van Delden, who lives in Amsterdam, when she dies there on 14 April 1919, only six months old. It appears from Hermina’s certificate of death, made out in Amsterdam, that her father, who reported her death then has a domicile in Rotterdam and also is an artist by profession.
On 2 October 1923 Mietje Maas and her son Philip left for Berlin to perform as an artist. After a year they return to the Netherlands and are registered in Rijswijk per 25 September 1924. Her husband stayed behind in the Netherlands, lives in Amsterdam and worked as an author there. In 1930 the family was registered in the Zoutmanstraat 43 in Den Haag but they still move a few more times in the city.
Since 15 November 1934 the Van Delden family lives again in Amsterdam, where they change their habitation more than five times in the period between 1934 and 1940. The marriage of Mietje Maas and Cornelis J.Th. van Delden however, did not last and on 9 November 1939 the marriage was dissolved by divorce in Rijswijk. Thereafter, Mietje Maas lives again at different addresses in Amsterdam and her last known address there was Lutmastraat 185 1st floor.
On 23 March 1943, Mietje Maas was taken and carried off to Westerbork, where she stayed in barrack 60. On 27 April she was put on transport to Sobiboer where on arrival there on 30 April 1942, she was immediately killed in the gas chambers there. Her ex and son Philip survived the war.
Sources include the City Archive of Rotterdam, family registration cards of Philip Maas and Mietje Maas;certificate of birth and recognition of Philip van Delden nr.11305 dated 14 Nov 1916; Municipal Archive Den Haag, family registration cards of Mietje Maas and Cornelis J.Th. van Delden; City Archive of Amsterdam, archive cards of Mietje Maas and Cornelis J.Th. van Delden, certificate of death nr.3485 from Amsterdam, register 5, year 1919, folio 92v dated 15 April 1919 for Hermina Maria Elisabeth Maas; the file cabinet of the Jewish Counicil, registration cards of Mietje van Delden Maas and additions of other researchers of these families.