Biography

About Jacob Oudkerk,

Life, hiding, his intended marriage which has been cancelled, deportation, employment and death.

Jacob Oudker, the youngest son of Hijman Oudkerk and Elisabeth Rokkestikker, was born on 13 April 1917. He lived with his parents at Bilderdijkstraat 71 and was a druggist by profession.

Jacob, usually called Jaap, had given notice of marriage with Lilly Davids, a daughter of Wolf Davids and Karolina Kahn. She was born in Arnhem on 19 June 1919 and at the time she worked as a saleswoman . During her registration with the Jewish Council in 1941, she lived in the Marnixstraat 417 house in Amsterdam.

Jaap and Lilly were both brought to Westerbork on 9 October 1943 and locked up in penal barrack 67, after probably being arrested while in hiding. Lilly was heavily pregnant and her child Ronald was born on 23 October 1943 in Westerbork. However, he died there on 4 November 1943 and was cremated on 12 November 1943. The urn with ashes was buried at the Jewish cemetery in Diemen on field U, row 13, grave number 15. Ronald was given the family name from his mother: Davids.

The intended marriage of Jacob Oudkerk and Lilly Davids was then announced: in Westerbork on 27 November 1943 and in Amsterdam on 4 December 1943. The marriage was to take place in Westerbork on 24 December 1943 and the marriage certificate, which had already been partly prepared, had been given no. 127. This certificate would be further completed during the marriage ceremony with the names of parents and witnesses, after which the certificate could be signed by everyone.

However, the already partially prepared deed shows with regard to the groom's parents that the father's name Hijman Oudkerk is mentioned without a known place of residence; the mother Elisabeth Rokkestikker has already died. With regard to the bride's parents, that certificate shows that the father Wolf Davids has already died and that the mother Karoline Kahn has no known place of residence either.

The father of the groom and the mother of the bride find themselves unable to explain their will regarding this marriage, according to the text from the said marriage certificate. For reasons that are not known, the marriage between Jacob Oudkerk and Lilly Davids was never consummated. On 8 February 1944, Jacob and Lilly, both unmarried, were deported to Auschwitz.

Even that 8th of February 1944, they wrote a postcard to Jopie Bonnée in Amsterdam, which read: Since we would like to have some change of air……. Let's go on vacation for a while! We're going to Max and Kitty, you know, Jaap's brother and sister-in-law. We are healthy and doing the best. How are you all doing? Many kisses and greetings to Jantje & Simon's friends. We will be back very soon!! Be of good courage, lots of love from the optimists, Lilly and Jaap.

On 8 February 1944, the transport left Westerbork with 1015 deportees; the transport consisted of 221 children up to 15 years old; 222 men aged 15 to 50; 117 women aged 15 to 40; 118 men over 50 years old and 337 women over 40 years old. There were ultimately 30 survivors, 15 men and 15 women.

Upon arrival in Auschwitz on 10/11 February 1944, a selection followed, during which 268 "sick people" from this transport were immediately gassed, as well as women with children up to 15 years old, men over 50, and women over 40 years old.

All selected men, including 26-year-old Jacob Oudkerk, were then kept in quarantine for approximately 4 weeks, after which some men from the group of men aged 15-50 were taken to Monowitz. However, most men remained in Auschwitz-Birkenau, from where some small groups were deported to sub-camps of the Auschwitz complex such as Jaworzno and Hubertushütte, and one man to Brobek.

A number of men from this transport were also “überstellt” – i.e. transferred to locations outside the Auschwitz complex, but it is not known where they were taken. It must be taken into account that there were also approximately 100 “missing people”, which leads to the conclusion that very little is known about the fate of most deportees.

After investigation, which was adopted by the Dutch Ministry of Justice in 1957, the Red Cross determined that Jacob Oudkerk must have died on 15 March 1945 in Central Europe. The Red Cross publication “Auschwitz VI” of March 1952, appendix V, shows that in the so-called “end period” two large evacuation marches departed from the Auschwitz complex, with route 2 departing from Gleiwitz on 19 January 1945 and arrived on 9 May 1945 in Greifenberg, where the still remaining survivors were liberated.

Based on the Red Cross investigation from March 1952 and also on the basis of his established date of death of 15 March 1945, a cautious and partial reconstruction of the fate of Jacob Oudkerk could be that:

  • Jacob Oudkerk arrived in Auschwitz on 10 February 1944 after deportation from  Westerbork on 8 February 1944.
  • Jacob, belonging to the age group 15 to 50 years, is quarantined for 4 weeks.
  • On 10 March 1944, Jacob was put to work in the Aussenkommando Birkenau with the “Canada Kommando” (Auschwitz II, from 25-11-1944 Auschwitz III).
  • At the time of the large evacuation transports that left the Auschwitz complex between 18 and 21 January 1945, men from the “Canada commando” were“evacuated” on foot from Gleiwitz on 19 January 1945 to Greifenberg. Survivors of this evacuation march were liberated there on 9 May 1945. (source:“Auschwitz VI  page 17 par 11b – sub 2)

The route 2 followed, as stated in the publication “Auschwitz VI” appendix V, is the following: Departure on foot on 19 January 1945 from Gleiwitz, then via Ratibor, Leobschütz, Ziegenhals, Neustadt (Silesia), Reichenau, Frankenstein, Oberlang Bielau , Weiszstein, Peterdorf, Schreiberhau, Fluisberg, Neustadt (Bohemia), Krobsdorf, Bloemendorf, Hirschberg, Löwenberg and Görlitz, finally arriving in Greifenberg on 9 May 1945.

Red Cross research has also shown that from various statements by repatriates, it can be concluded that when the groups referred to sub Ilb reached the Gleiwitz camp, the transports referred to sub IIa had already left and that a selection took place in groups of "weak" and "healty" from the transports sub Ilb. The "weak" of these were said to have been liquidated in the forests near Gleiwitz.

The above-mentioned group IIa was evacuated on foot to Gleiwitz and further by train (via Gross Rosen) with the final destinations being the concentration camps Dachau, Sachsenhausen or Mittelbau-Dora, where they arrived respectively on 28-01-1945, 29-01-1945 and between 29-01 and 04-02-1945.  Departure from Gleiwitz: 20 January 1945.

However, it was mainly the foot transports, which were often on the road for weeks and even months, that claimed many victims. (from Auschwitz VI p. 25). The evacuation from the Auschwitz complex to Gleiwitz and then to Greifenberg took 3 ½ months. Research by the Red Cross has led to the conclusion that Jacob Oudkerk died on 15 March 1945, somewhere during the evacuation. He did not reach the final destination to Greifenberg. It was not possible to determine exactly where he died.

By order of the Amsterdam District Court of 17 April 1957, the addition of 24 death certificates to the registers of the Civil Registry of Amsterdam was ordered, which had already been registered on 26 April 1956, following a declaration by the Minister of Justice in the register A110- folio 2 to 5verso, deeds numbers 1 to 24, of which deed no. 16 reads: On 15 March 1945 died in Central Europe, Oudkerk, Jacob, born in Amsterdam on 13 April 1917, living in Amsterdam, son of Oudkerk, Hijman and Rokkestikker, Elisabeth.

Sources include the City Archive of Amsterdam, archive cards of Jacob Oudkerk and Lilly Davids; the file cabinet of the Jewish Council, registration cards of Jacob Oudkerk and Lilly Davids; website openarchieven.nl/drents archive/BS 1943/wedding certificate 127 dated 24 December 1943 Jacob Oudkerk x Lilly Davids; website Jew transports from the Netherlands/ transport 8 February 1944; source website “oorlog in Nijmegen”/Publication “Auschwitz V” by the Red Cross of  December 1953, Chapter 2 – page 16 to 20/transport from Westerbork 8 February 1944; Red Cross archive/publication “Auschwitz VI”/page. 16-18 and appendixV/ the large evacuation transports and the death certificate for Jacob Oudkerk from book “deaths 1957”, register 5, folio 5, deed 16 for Jacob Oudkerk and previous additions of users of the website.

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