Margaretha Boas was a daughter of Abraham Juda Boas and Sophia Betje Mossel. She was born in Amsterdam on 23 September 1886. She had also a little sister, Lea, who was born on 22 November 1887 but she died already on 19 Januaary 1888, not even 2 months old. The family lived in Amsterdam and was registered in the period 1874-1893 at the addresses Zeedijk 136 and St. Anthoniebreestraat 100.
Margaretha Boas married at the age of 33 years in Antwerp on 30 December 1919 the 36-year old and divorced from Robertine Bauduin, Jacob van West, diamond worker by profession, who was born in Amsterdam on 2 March 1883 as a son of Salomon van West and Sophia Hen. Margaretha was his second spouse, but Jacob van West however passed away already on 16 December 1938 in Borgerhout.
Jacob was previously married to the fashion worker from Brussels, Robertine Bauduin, who was born on 17 February 1886 as a daughter of Robert Bauduin and Agnes Born. From that marriage two children were born: on 14 August 1904 Sylvanus Gregorius Robertus van West was born in Borgerhout and on 8 November 1908, Margaretha van West was born in Berchem. However, this wedlock, which had been concluded on 11 June 1904 in Borgerhout, was dissolved by divorce on 23 June 1917 in Antwerp-City.
Margaretha Boas lived with her mother Sophia Betje Boas-Mossel in the Bouwhandelstraat 68 in Borgerhout since 4 January 1922. Her father, Abraham Juda Boas had passed away 29 December 1921 in the Boomgaardstraat 177 in Antwerp. Early 1922 her mother then moved to Borgerhout and her daughter Margaretha and her husband Jacob van West moved in too.
From a "Message of Departure of a Stranger", which was sent from the Municipality of Borgerhout to the Minister of the Interior and Justice on 7 June 1948, it appeared that Margaretha Boas' last address was Dodoensstraat 15 in Borgerhout. This means that both her mother Sophia and Margaretha herself, after the death of Jacob van West on 16 December 1938, moved once more from Bouwhandelstraat 68 to Dodoensstraat 15 within the municipality.
The above message contained the "official deletion" from the Borgerhout Population Register of the widow Margaretha Boas, due to departure from Dodoensstraat 15 to an unknown address.
It has been appeared later, that Margaretha van West Boas was deported from the assembly camp in Mechelen to Auschwitz on 24 October 1942 in the 14th (XIVth) convoy. In this transport, also her mother Sophia Betje Boas Mossell and her cousin-by marriage Esther Koekoek-van West were carried off to Auschwitz and after arrival there immediately murdered.
Also Margaretha van West Boas fell victim to one of the raids which were held in Antwerp as the compilation of the transport list for the 14th convoy had started already on 15 October 1942. This transport has been combined with the 15th convoy and in total, 1471 deportees were carried off directly to Auschwitz. Upon arrival there on 26 October, not all deportees were murdered in the gas chambers of Auschwitz-Birkenau, but a group of 895 women, so not only Sophia Betje Boas-Mossel and Esther Koekoek-van West, but also Margaretha van West-Boas; immediately upon arrival they were gassed.
Sources include the Felix Archive/Dossiers of Foreigners of the City of Antwerp no’s 481#75238 and 481#159321 for Margaretha van West-Boas, no’s 481#141555 and 1120#303 for Jacob van West; website Give them a Face portrait collection/transportlist 14th convoy with startdate compliation of 15 October 1942 and the Memorial of the Deportation of the Belgian Jews/14th convoy/page 27-28.