Ellie was born in 1937 in Lienden and grew up as a cheerful girl with dark eyes and a warm presence. Since her parents were busy running their shop, she was mainly cared for by the maid, Judith van den Berg, with whom she developed a close bond.
When the Nazis intensified their persecution of Jews and her father Hartog was forced to close his shop, the family decided to go into hiding. However, Hartog and his wife Jacoba worried that their young daughter would not be able to cope with the confinement of hiding. Believing that the Germans would not harm a four-year-old child, they made the heart-wrenching decision to go into hiding without Ellie. Judith, the maid, took her in.
Their hope proved to be in vain. In August 1942, the mayor of Lienden reported the names of all Jewish residents to the occupying forces. Soon after, Ellie was arrested, deported via The Hague and Westerbork, and on 17 September 1942, at just four years old, murdered in Auschwitz.
