Aron van Kollem lived with his parents Simon and Roosje van Kollem at Vrolikstraat 162 I in Amsterdam during the war. Aron worked as a furrier and was unmarried. At the time that he registered for the military he weighed 65kg and was 176cm tall. He was incorporated into the service on 17-Feb-1936.
A little over two months after the deportation of his parents, Aron van Kollem was arrested on 15-Feb-1943 in Beekbergen, a small village south of Apeldoorn. He was detained in the Apeldoorn police station along with Levie Isac Italie (b. 20-Feb-1864, Nijmegen), the painter Meijer Bleekrode (b. 13-Feb-1896, Amsterdam) and his wife Elizabeth Margaretha van Witsen, (b. 24-Dec-1903, Berchem, BE). It is known that the couple went into hiding after the call to report to the Hollandsche Schouwburg in August, 1942, however, how they came to know Aron van Kollem is not known. It is also not known at what point Aron van Kollem himself went into hiding.
At the Apeldoorn Police Station, the three men were retained in Cell 3 and Elizabeth van Witsen was detained in Cell 2. On 17-Feb-1943 all four individuals were transferred by the Military Police to the Sicherheitsdienst (SD) in Arnhem, possibly for further questioning. On 24-Feb-1943 an additional six Jews were found in hiding by the Military Police and arrested in Beekbergen.
On 27-Feb-1943 Aron van Kollem was transferred to Westerbork, where he was held in Barrack 68. He was transported to Sobibor from Westerbork on 27-Apr-1943. Aron’s aunt Aaltje van Kollem was also transported on the same train. Very little is known about this particular transport, as Sobibor acted almost exclusively as an extermination camp. Of the 34,000 individuals deported from the Netherlands to Sobibor in the Spring of 1943, only 19 survived. The train arrived on 29-Apr-1943 and all of the 1,204 deportees were sent for immediate execution. Aron van Kollem was killed on 30-Apr-1943.
Updated 19-Jun-2024
Sources
Apeldoorn Politierapport 15-Feb-1943 to 26-Feb-1943, Gedenkstenen Joods Apeldoorn
ITS-Arolsen 130321882: Judenrat Card Simon van Kollem
ITS-Arolsen 130321768: Judenrat Card Aron van Kollem
ITS-Arolsen 130332771: Judenrat Card Aaltje de Levita
Amsterdam Stadsarchief: Militieregisters (Military Registration) Aron van Kollem
Carry, van Lakerveld, “BLEEKRODE, Meijer”, BWSA
Yad Vashem: Transport from Westerbork to Sobibor 27-Apr-1943 (Aron van Kollem)