Heinrich Waksman from Sandomierz in Poland, was a son of the shoemaker Leizor Waksman and Jisko Berman. 24 November 1927 he married in Amsterdam Henriette Fransman, a daughter of Mozes Fransman and Leentje Hildesheim. After their marriage the couple lived at Blasiusstraat 53 and there were following four more removals before they came living at Uithoornstraat 30 down floor. The Waksman family lived there until they were fetched and arrested by the Germans. Meantime their children were born: in 1930 their son Max and in 1931 their daughter Ida.
Heinrich Waksman, a tailor by trade, arrived 3 May 1922 from Sandomierz in Poland in Amsterdam. He started at Manegestraat 4, the so called “Russians-street”, where he stayed till 11 November 1922.Then he moved to Weesperplein 15 where he lived till 15 January 1923. Afterwards, untill his marriage, Heinrich lived at least at ten other addresses.
As far as known, his parents had two children who came from Poland to The Netherlands, namely Heinrich and his sister Ruchel. His sister too married in Amsterdam, to Hartog de Vries and they had a daughter in 1938, named Ida; she survived the Shoah. Their parents however, Leizor Waksman and Jisko Betman have never been in Holland. About their “fate” is nothing known. But Heinrich and his family, as also his sister Ruchel and her husband, were killed by the nazi’s.
26 August 1942, the complete Heinrich Waksman family has been deported from Uithoornstraat to Camp Westerbork. They stayed there only for two days and have been put on transport 28 August to Auschwitz. Henriette Fransman and her two children Max and Ida were killed immediatetely upon arrival there 31 August 1942. Heinrich Waksman however most likely belonged to the first group of 170 persons, who had to leave the train at Kozel, and who were forced to do hard labor in one or more of the surrounding sub-camps of Auschwitz (²). Heinrich Waksman eventually lost his life somewhere in Mid Europe 30 April 1943.
Sources: City archive of Amsterdam, family registration card and archive card of Heinrich Waksman, archive card of Henriette Fransman; website www.wiewaswie.nl, marriage Heinrich Waksman/Henriette Fransman; the file cabinet of the Jewish Council, registration cards of Heinrich, Max and Ida Waksman and Henriette Waksman-Fransman; website Joodsamsterdam/russenstraatje and website Jodentransporten from Holland.
(¹) More to read about the Russenstraatje (Russians-street) in the next story.
(²) More information about Kozel and the "Kozel-period" is to read in the next story.
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