Johanna Julia Kan was a daughter of Izak Kan from Goor and Rachel Kaufman from Gennep. She was born 1 April 1913 in Goor and was unmarried. On 15 September 1930 Johanna, her mother and her 2-year older brother Nico moved from Goor to Rotterdam. Her father, who travelled for Messrs. Disco import and export, arrived already a few months earlier from Berlin in Rotterdam. During the time they stayed there, they lived at addresses at Adrien Mildersstraat, Beatrijsstraat and at Kruiskade.
Her brother Nico left Rotterdam for Groningen already in 1933 and married in 1937 in Amsterdam Hendrina Vles. Johanna herself was trained as a laboratory worker and left Rotterdam for the Maria-Oord health resort in Gennep. It is not known whether she stayed there as a tuberculosis patient or that she was employed there as a laboratory worker. However, on 8 January 1936 she left already from there to Amsterdam at Scheldestraat 127 1st floor, where her parents had moved to already from Rotterdam on 24 December 1935.
In 1936, her father owned a milk shop in the Kuipersstraat in Amsterdam. Because of function, the Jewish Council provided him and his family of an exemption from deportation until further notice. Moreover, the chairman of the Jewish Council, Mr. Abraham Asscher issued a so-called “indispensability statement” for him, whereby his business was classified as a “Jewish business” (Joods Lokaal).
In the 2nd half of May 1943, the Germans had cancelled all exemptions (Sperren). It is possible that because of the “indispensability statement” her father possessed, that it took till early July 1943 before the Kan family was also taken to Westerbork. Johanna came there on 10 July 1943 and ended up in barrack 97. Her parents were registered there already a few days earlier, on 6 July and they had to stay in barrack 57. On 13 July they were all deported to Sobibor and on arrival there on 16 July 1943, they were immediately killed.
Sources among others: City Archive of Amsterdam, family registration card of Izak kan, archive card of Johanna Julia Kan; City Archive of Rotterdam, family registration card of Izak kan; website openarchiven.nl/marriage Izak Kan to Rachel Kaufman and the file cabinet of the Jewish Council, registration cards of Johanna Julia Kan, Izak Kan and Rachel Kan-Kaufman.