Stationsweg 42 Zuidlaren
Diagonally opposite the Van Dam teacher couple, about which you can read at the next point, Izaäk van Dam's shop annex house was located on Stationsweg, popularly called 'jeude van Dam'. He was born in 1893 in Warfhuizen (municipality of Leens) as the son of the cattle dealer Simon van Dam and his wife Martha Rosenbaum. lzaäk's mother was the daughter of ltzig Rosenbaum, who was also a Zuidlaarder by birth and was one of the founding fathers of the small Jewish community here that existed from 1883 to 1925. In 1919 Isaac married Eva Nathans, born in 1893 in Haren, daughter of Siemon Nathans and Betje de Jong, granddaughter of Nathan Nathans, one of the founders of the synagogue (his name is carved in stone against the rear wall of the shoal of Zuidlaren Immediately after their marriage, lzaäk and Eva moved into the shop on Stationsweg 42 and established a kind of 'shop van Sinkel' where indeed everything was for sale: manufactures, clothing, furniture, luxury items, galleries, etc. The Van Dams there are five children, all born in Zuidlaren: Martijn Bertus (born 1921), Siemon Machiel (born 1922), Martha Betje (born 1929, named after both grandmothers, the girl died in 1931 when she died in a she was buried unguarded with a kettle of hot water; she is buried in the Jewish Cemetery of Zuidlaren), Bernard Max (born 1932) and finally the youngest child Machiel Nico, who was born in 1935, but already four days after birth O passed away, He was also buried in Zuidlaren at the Cemetery on the Wolferdinge. In addition to being a successful businessman, Isaac van Dam was also a prominent man in pre-war Zuidlaarder society. He was a board member of the Zuidlaarder Handelsvereniging and even - from 1937-1940 - a member of the city council for the Vrijzinnig Democratic Bond. He contributed to Zuidlaren getting street signs (important for the emerging tourism and therefore also for the local middle class!). At the beginning of 1940 he resigned as a city councilor because of "the sad conditions that we now live through". He tried to sell his business, because he wanted to emigrate to America with his family, at the invitation of some of his cousins, who had made it there in the meantime. But he waited too long, and on May 10, 1940, he had nowhere to go. An attempt to find another ship to England failed. From that moment on, the family was trapped. He still looked for hiding places for his oldest sons and indeed they took place with farmers in Twijzel and Drachtstercompagnie. But at some point, father Van Dam announced that he needed his sons in the company (but he and his wife probably missed their boys). Later - when it became more and more difficult for Jews in our country - Zuidlaarder resistance people moved the boys of Van Dam into a hiding place under a garage on the grounds of Dennenoord, but they did not keep it up. Not long after that they walked through the village again. Apparently that leaked out and they were picked up and taken to Groningen where they were detained for some time. Also one of the resistance people - M.W. ten Haaf, blacksmith at "Dennenoord", was imprisoned for some time. The others could spring the dance. Father Van Dam would also go to Groningen at some point, after he had given three suitcases with winter clothes for safekeeping to Siert Drenth on the Verlengde Stationsweg, which had once been apprenticed to him. Years later, his wife found a beautiful Hanukkah among the clothes, which is now displayed in the synagogue. At some point - August 24, 1942 - Eva van Dam and her little son Bernard were also taken away from home by a Dutch policeman and put on the train to Groningen. There they would have been reunited with the other family members and taken to Westerbork together. Mrs. Hamminga-Boon, wife of a local general practitioner, saw the "Zuidlaarder Jews" walking from Hooghalen station to camp Westerbork. They also went on transport almost immediately. Isaac wrote a postcard from the train to the friends of his youngest son: Jan and Roel Janssens. The text is engraved on the Jewish monument "Dear Jan and Roelie, we are on the train and go very far away. Goodbye boys, greetings from Pa and Moe and boys, Bernard". On August 31, 1942, Eva van Dam-Nathans and her son Bernard were gassed in Auschwitz-Birkenau. Father Van Dam and the boys survived for some time, but none of them would survive the war. Abelieke Janssens, daughter of Bemard's boyfriend Jan Janssens is currently working on a book about the family. ln Auschwitz also Betje Polak died, born in Sleen, the daughter of Philip Polak and Aaltje Nathans, sister of Eva and Anna Nathans, niece of the Van Dams, with whom she had been in the shop for some time. She is arrested with her younger brother Simon (born 1918) i
Dikenang di sini Siemon Machiel van Dam 1922 – 1942 Bernard Max van Dam 1932 – 1942 Betje Polak 1912 – 1942 Izaäk van Dam 1893 – 1942 Martijn Bertus van Dam 1921 – 1945 Eva van Dam-Nathans 1893 – 1942 Adakah batu di sini rosak atau hilang? Beritahu kami melalui e-mel
