Caroline van Loen was the sixth child of Abraham van Loen and Cato Hirsch. From October 1905 she studied mathematics and physics in Leiden. On 1 May 1918 she got a job at the library of the Leiden University. Besides her job at the library, she also was a member of the board of the Jewish Orphanage in Leiden. Carolina van Loen was, together with Elsa Oppenheim, responsible for "monitoring and giving information to the visitors of the reading room”. They received (like all Jewish employees of the University) their discharge certificate on 23 November 1940. With the help of friends and acquaintances Caroline tried to survive.
On 3 March 1944 she was deported by the Germans to Auschwitz where she was murdered a few days later.
To commemorate the employees of the library a memorial has been unveiled in the lobby of the University on 26 November 2003.
Addition of a visitor of the website
This person is commemorated on a memorial in Leiden. More information on this memorial can be found (in Dutch) on the website of the Nationaal Comité 4 en 5 mei.