Nieuwendijk 10
Vlissingen
Jacob Cracau was born on September 21, 1909 in Vlissingen. He was the sixth child of Victor Cracau (died 1919) and Engeltje Frank (1880-1943). When Jacob was ten years old, his father died and he must have assisted his mother in the rag and metal company that ran the family in Vlissingen from 1860. He may be the child depicted in a photo of the gymnastics association VTV around 1912.
Apart from a provisional exemption from conscription in 1928, little is found about Jacob's personal life. Business went reasonably well, although the violent fire in the rag warehouse on the Koestraat / corner of the Horse Market in November 1930 caused the necessary damage. Because of the strong wind, the fire quickly got hold of the large stock of car tires that were stored on the spot. So much so that the fire brigade should have cleared the adjacent houses. The stench had been unbearable and the fire continued to smolder for days. Fortunately, the company was well insured and the warehouse could be used again in March 1931. It ended less well in February 1932 when the drapery shop in Slijkstraat, which was also under the umbrella of the firm Wed. V. Cracau and Zn operated, suddenly ablaze. Here the whole building went up in flames and the neighbors had to flee their homes in nightwear. The severe frost that was prevalent at the time had turned the fire-fighting water into ice.
As the war got closer, the atmosphere in the city became more oppressive. Nevertheless, Vlissingen seems to have had little trouble with NSB members in the 1930s. There are not many complaints in the police reports. One of the few that is mentioned concerns Jacob Cracau. On Aug. 26, 1939, the police noted a complaint by merchant Jacob Cracau for insult. At the corner of Walstraat and Lange Zelke, a colporteur from Volk en Vaderland had shouted to him: "It is all that is Red and Jew." The complaint will not have helped much.
Jacob must have been a respected man. In April 1940 he was summoned by the court in Middelburg to testify about the purchase of a few batches of lead, where it was suspected that it was stolen. However, Jacob daily declared that he bought such small batches, which were generally found during excavation and construction work, and partly because of his testimony, the defendants went free. The firm Wed. V. Cracau and Zn continued the work even after the start of the occupation. In December 1941 Jacob was still fully engaged in trade. Ads from that month mention the favorable prices he gave for hare and rabbit skins. He even offered five cents more for every sheet delivered to his home! In March 1942 Jacob had to leave Vlissingen with his mother and leave for Amsterdam, where he went to live at 301 Vrolikstraat. On July 15, 1942 he arrived in Westerbork, where he was immediately transported to the east. Jacob Cracau was murdered in Auschwitz on August 19, 1942.
After the war, his younger brother Salomon returned to Vlissingen. He set up the firm Wed. V. Cracau and Sons on. In an advertisement on July 9, 1945 with the headline "We are back!", The inhabitants of Vlissingen were alerted to this. The company was only closed in 1972.
Katie Heyning
https://struikelstenenzeeland.nl/2019/05/31/jacob-cracau/
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