Morris Wagenhuizen, a diamond worker by trade, was born 28 February 1876 in London as 2nd of the eight children of Jacob Wagenhuizen and Rebecca Witmond. His elder sister was Rachel, born in 1874 and his other siblings were David (1877), Barend or Barnett (1879), Simon (1881) Elisabeth, known as Bella (1882), Eva (1886) and Bertha (1888), al born in London. His sibs Barnett and Bella passed away already before the war but all others were killed during the Holocaust.
Morris Wagenhuizen married 16 September 1903 in Amsterdam Betje van Collem, a daughter of Joël van Collem and Rebecca Vogel. Also Betje was born into a large family: she had five siblings of whom three sibs were killed in the Shoah.
Betje’s parents and the children left Amsterdam for Antwerp on 24 January 1901. One day after her marriage to Morris Wagenhuizen, on 17 September 1903, they left Amsterdam for Antwerp too but six months later, on 16 April 1904 she passed away there. Morris and Betje still had no offspring.
On 28 June 1905, Morris Wagenhuizen remarried – again in Amsterdam – the widow of Emanuel Witteboon, Rachel Polak, who was born 3 November 1869 in Amsterdam as a daughter of Isaac Polak and Rebecca Salzedo. Morris and Rachel had a daughter in Amsterdam, born 19 April 1906 named Rebecca Wagenhuizen.
Rachel Polak and Emanuel Witteboon (a son of Meijer Witteboon and Judic Nebbig) were married in Amsterdam 4 January 1893 and on 9 October 1893, their daughter Judic Witteboon was born there. Emanual Witteboon however died 17 November 1895 in Amsterdam and was interred in the Jewish Cemetery at Muiderberg.
Partly due to his work in the diamond industry, Morris Wagenhuizen changed several times of address and place of residence. Between 1903 and 1905 he lived with his first wife Betje van Collem at Terlierstraat 1 in Antwerp and at Ledeganckstraat 7 in Borgerhout. Since 1905 Morris lived with Rachel Polak at Rolwagenstraat 15 in Antwerp and later – after having resided shortly in Amsterdam – Morris, Rachel and their daughter Rebecca lived again in Antwerp at Stanleystraat 8. Between 1907 and 1924 the family commuted between various addresses in Antwerp, Berchem and Borgerhout. However, 14 April 1924 their address was Wipstraat 9 in Antwerp.
On 14 May 1937 Morris Wagenhuizen and Rachel Polak moved to Langstraat 57 in Borgerhout and their daughter Rebecca followed two days later. Rebecca however left Borgerhout for Amsterdam 20 February 1940 and went living in whith her half-sister Judic Witteboon and her husband Philip Nathan Cohen at Van Woustraat 108 1st floor. On 19 January 1943 she was registered in Westerborn where she had to stay in barrack 19 till she was deported to Auschwitz 29 January 1943. On arrival there 1 February 1943, Rebecca Wagenhuizen was immediately killed.
Morris Wagenhuizen and his wife Rachel Polak were deported from Mechelen to Auschwitz with different convoys: Morris with the 11th convoy of 26 September 1942 and on arrival on 29 September immediately sent to the gaschambers where he was killed. Rachel was deported with the 13th convoy of 10 October 1942. She arrived 13 October 1942 in Auschwitz and has been killed immediately too.
Sources: The Dossier of Foreigners of the City of Antwerp, nr. 107829, images 155-188; the City Archive of Amsterdam, family registration cars of Joël van Collem and archive card of Rebecca Wagenhuizen; residence card of Van Woustraat 108 1st floor and the website wiewaswie.nl, wedding Betje van Collem to Morris Wagenhuizen and the Memorial of the Deportation of the Belgian Jews, pages 419, 551 and 26 and 27.