The Jewish community of Goor as from 1900

 

Sources:

 

M.A. Sloot, Sprokkelen in Goors verleden.

 

Stichting Goors Historie 1987, pages 112-129, edited by H.H.G. de Jong 

 

A short historical summary

The first Jewish family names in Goor appear in the accounts of the Drost of Twente covering the period of 1336-1339. In 1336 the property of six Jewish families from Oldenzaal, Goor and Diepenheim was confiscated.

The Jews were accused of causing the black plague epidemic (1347-1351) by poisoning the water wells. As a result many Jews were killed or expelled.

In 1390 a Jewish inhabitant of Goor is mentioned in the Town Protocol, Herman the Jode, counselor of the town.

In 1546 Karel V issued a decree expelling the Jews of Utrecht and probably also of Oversticht (Overijsel).

In 1679 Hijman Jacobs and in 1698 the butcher Moses Salomon requested permission to live in Goor. Placards from those years order the Jews to return to their place of living. In 1739 the States of Overijsel decreed that foreign Jews were not permitted to settle in Overijsel.

Nevertheless the stream of immigrants from Eastern Europe did not stop.

According to the Nieuw Israelitisch Weekblad, the number of Jews living in Goor in 1914 was 96; before the second world war there were 32. Directly after the war 19 were left.

 

Family names

We shall discuss the following family names: Brogholter, Fortuin, Hoek, van Messel, Polak, Herschel, van Engel, Asser, Muller, Mogendorff, Vecht, Cracau, Mendels, Kwitser, Lobstein, Kan, Salomonson, Siwowicz, Stern, ten Brink, Wolff, Spanjer.

 

Nathan Brogholter.

Nathan Brogholter, and his brother traded in knitting and sewing machines. One brother was the seller and the other the cashier.

 

Moses Jacob Fortuin.

Moses Jacob Fortuin, married Kaatje Niekerk. He owned a trade in sewing requisites. He moved to Lochem, where he established a small yarn factory. In 1919 he moved to Deventer.

 

Andries Hoek.

Andries Hoek (1842-1925), married Dina Prins (1846-1891). Their son, Ezechiel Jacob (1875-1968) married Catharina Gosschalk (1874-1964). He had a drapery shop and also traded in gold and silver. He was a city councilor from 1923 till 1927. In 1901 he founded the gymnastics club Excelsior. He was in hiding in Stokkum and survived WWII.

 

The couple had four children: David, died from cancer, Andries, moved to Lochem, Dina Stella, who died in hiding in 1944 and was buried in the garden of the family who had hidden her and Izak Jacob (1906-1984), nicknamed Broer.

Izak was married to Roza From (born 1912); the couple had three children Edu, Selma Catharina and Duco. Edu managed the family enterprise, which concentrated on internal architecture.

 

Van Messel.

Van Messel, gravedigger and "shammesj", married Eefje Polak. Two sons: Israel (teacher) and Eduard (butcher).

 

The family Polak was a large family.

Hartog Polak, born 1847, nicknamed "de Plakke" was married twice.

First marriage with Dina Engers, with four children: Roosje, Betje (1887), Levie and Israel (1879). All moved to Germany.

Second marriage with Esther de Levie (1863), six children: Sally (1898), Marcus (1903), Bram (1896), Heiman (1894), Simon (1900-1926) and Sara (1907).

Marcus was mentioned in the news in 1929, because he was knifed by a German, whom he tried to help. The German attacker was returned to Germany and Marcus did not receive any compensation. His hospitalization was paid for by the Hengelo municipality.

Bram was married to Hedwig Cohen (1898). They had two children: Harry Simon and Johnny Magnus.

Sally married Aaltje Bakker; they had one son named Hartog.

In 1943 Esther was transported in an ambulance to Westerbork. Heiman, Marcus and the little Johnny Magnus died in Mauthausen and Sobibor. Bram also died during the war, location unknown.

 

Mozes Herschel, goat butcher.

 

Rabbi Wolf.

Rabbi Wolf, nicknamed the "Jodenmeester," was the Jewish teacher.

He had one daughter, Roosje.

 

Family van Engel

Mozes van Engel had three sons and six daughters:

Son Daniel

Son Nathan

Son Aron

Daughter Bertha

Daughter Sara

Daughter Miete

Daughter Dientje

Daughter Sientje

Daughter Bet

 

Son Daniel (1857-1909), a butcher, married three times:

1.     First marriage with Francisca Gruenewald (1869-1895), two sons: Nats (1889), a teacher and Mozes Aron (1888).

2.     Second marriage with … Frank, one son Salomon.

3.     Third marriage with Johanna Gruenewald (1869-1943), three children: Ies (1903), Joeltsje (1896-1920) and Emma, who migrated to the USA.

Johanna was hidden during the war in Holten, was betrayed and died in Sobibor. Ies was arrested during a great razzia in Twente in 1941 and died in Mauthausen.

 

Son Nathan (1863-1932), married Hanchen Bendix, they had two daughters and five sons.

Two daughters: Roza (1900-1943) and Heintje.

Five sons: Leo, Daniel, Marcus, Benjamin, Mozes.

Mozes died in 1935. His wife and daughter Sonja were hidden during the war for two years and survived.

 

Son Aron married to Sara Bendix, two children: Mozes and Mathilda.

 

Daughter Bertha, married Lobstein.

 

Daughter Sarah, married  Boekbinder, daughter Rebecca

 

Daughter Miete, married Elzas, eight children.

 

Daughter Dientje, married Serphos, three children.

 

Daughter Sientje, married Muller.

 

Daughter Bet, married Herschel, ten children.

Altogether father Mozes had nine children and about forty grandchildren.

Only Sonja, a granddaughter of Bet, and Emma a daughter of Nats survived WW II.

        

The Mullers.

The four Muller brothers founded a butter factory in 1879. The founders were: Asser and Lion, nicknamed the "Botterjoerre", from Goor and Salomon and Wolf from Oldenzaal. They also traded in margarine and ham.

Asser had three sons. Charles, nicknamed the "Groot'n Botterjoerre," Louis nicknamed the "Klein'n Botterjoerre," and Bernard. All three moved to The Hague.

Lion also had three children. Emma, Heintje and Moewke. Heintje published a book on her family, and Moewke became a gynecologist. He was arrested and interned in Barneveld, where he died. He wrote a book "Memories of a gynecologist," published after his death by Bruna in 1948.

 

J. Mogendorff.

Mogendorff traded in antiques, gold, silver and umbrellas. Later on he appeared at fairs with a puppet show. He had four children: Bertha, Sara, Leo, who had an antiquity shop in London, and Ies, a manufacturer in Amsterdam.

 

Salomon Vecht.  

Salomon Vecht (1862) married Rozette Hoek (1849). He HHHHHHwas a cattle trader. Their son David traded in gold and silver and due to an administrational error he was transported during the war to a concentration camp, as described in the book:

"Attorny at law during occupation" by Benno Stokvis.

 

Cracau.

Abraham Jozef Cracau, nicknamed "Beret Cracau", traded in hats and handkerchiefs. After his store was burnt, he opened a market stand in Amsterdam.

Salomon Jozef Cracau, the "Paper Cracau", traded in writing accessories and lottery letters. He was married to a rich woman, Froneque Ganz.

 

L. Mendels.

L. Mendels, owner of a bookshop, married Emma Salomons.

The couple moved to Almelo.

 

 

L. Kwitser (1866-1945).

L. Kwitser was a Physician, who settled in Goor in1909. He also was a good marksman, and a member of the "Koningin Emma Association."

He married Estella Josephine Levie (1873-1941).

Two daughters: Marie Anne (1900) and Louisa Emma.

He went into hiding in 1943 and died on 19 January 1945.

 

J. Lobstein.

Jacques Lobstein married Betje van Engel (1851), Nathan van Engel's sister. They had 5 children. Their son Bram, who sold charcoal, was well known in Goor. He was a council member from 1909 till 1931.

He had two sons, Herman – born in 1914, who committed suicide in 1940 after the German invasion – and Jacques, an attorney at law, married to Eva Berlijn. They had no children. Jacques was in hiding during the war and survived.

Bram had three brothers and one sister: Hein, an officer in the Dutch army, Lex and Bennie, both teachers and Reina, their sister.

Hein was nicknamed Orange Hein, because he used to wave an orange flag so as to to tease his brother Bram, who was called the Red Bram, due to his socialist inclination.  

From 1909 till 1939 Hein was a council member for the SDAP, but in 1926 he quarreled with his own party members. He actually wanted to become the burgomaster. Finally he founded a party of his own, the "Independent Party," and from 1927 he formed the opposition in the town council.

 

De Beer.

De Beer, a butcher, married de Jong, two daughters: Fini, married to Katz and Jeanette married to Levis.

 

A family named Rozendaal.

The mother: Jette. The children: Leo, Lena and Ies.    

Leo was married to Julia Frankenhuis.

Lena and Ies went into hiding during the war, but were arrested and died in a concentration camp.

 

N. Kan, peddler in cloth. His son, Ies, was married to Julia Meijers, a hatmaker.

 

Salomonson, was a butcher of sheep, goats and cattle.

 

Rabbi Enoch Siwowicz was born in 1878. He came to Goor in 1933 and died there in 1934. He lived in rooms rented from Moos van Engel.

 

A family named Stern.

This family arrived in Goor in 1936. Erich Stern, together with butcher Loewenhardt and dentist Kahn started a factory for the producing of fat, which was closed after two years.

The Stern couple had two daughters; one of them was Eefje (1938-1984). They and both their daughters went into hiding and survived the war. 

Loewenhardt and Kahn did not survive.

 

In 1938 Werner ten Brink settled in Goor, with his parents. His father, Herman ten Brink (1888-1965), was born in the Netherlands, and his mother, Sophie Lehman (1887-1960), came from Germany.

During the war the whole family went into hiding and survived.

 

Michael Wolff and his wife Felicia van Lier settled in Goor in 1934. They had one daughter, Ruth Flora Rosalie. Michael Wolff was an attorney at law and an Inspector Accountant of the "Joodse Raad."

The couple was arrested in 1941 and died in Auschwitz. Their daughter survived the war.

 

Sallie Spanjer (1898-1957). In 1924 Sallie was appointed chief inspector of the abattoir at Goor, and moved to Goor with his wife and daughter Selma. The three of them were hidden during the war and survived.

After the war Sallie was the secretary of the Jewish community and was responsible for the sale of the synagogue.

 

 

 

Jewish victims 1940-1945

 

 

The old synagogue.

According to the land register there already was a synagogue in Goor in 1870. On a ground plan from the year 1883 the synagogue is marked between a café and a school building. In the town plan mention is made of a church and a courtyard (1884), church, bathroom and courtyard (1890), synagogue, school, bathroom and courtyard (1894).

According to a deed from 1895 the synagogue council, composed of Messrs. Brogholter, Lion Liefman Muller, Israel de Beer, Abraham Cracau, and Salomon Vecht, acquired a parcel of land behind the synagogue.

In 1898 Nathan van Engel acquires- in name of the Jewish community of Goor- a house with a garden where the new synagogue will be erected. From 1902 till 1946 this synagogue was situated in the Schoolstraat (formerly Malmberg).

During the German occupation the synagogue was emptied by the Germans. The seats and all the woodwork were demolished. In March 1945 the building was heavily damaged during a bombardment.

In July the building was sold for over one million guilders.

 

The inventory of the synagogue was as follows:

 

 

Documents from the Nederlands Israelitisch Kerkgenootscap in Amsterdam, prove that four torah rolls and silver ornaments were deposited with the Twentse Bank Goor, which handed these items over to the German invaders.

Probably the NSB, the Dutch Nazi Party, which cooperated with the Germans, put their hands on these items, but this possibility cannot be proved. Anyway, after the war they were regarded as lost, and are not included in the above inventory.

 

The Jewish cemetery   

According to the land register the cemetery was situated in the Molenstraat, to be reached by a path between Molenstraat 12 and 14. The oldest stone found, dating from 1679, bears the name of Heiman Jacobs. The nowadays cemetery, which must have been established in 1720, on an area of 2402 square meters, has been recognized as an official monument, and is being maintained by the Goor municipality.

On the left side of the main path there are 10 tombstones and 46 on the right. Some texts are in Hebrew.

 

The following tombstones are legible:

 

Kaatje Niekerk widow of Mozes Jacob Fortuin                1881-1964                  

Hartog Lievendag, husband of Grietje Fortuin                 1906-1963

Ezechiel Jacob Hoek, widower of Catharina Gosschalk       1875-1963

Catharina Gosschalk                                                                  1874-1964

Herman ten Brink, en zijn vrouw                                      1888-1965

Sophie Lehmann                                                               1887-1960

Roza ten Brink-van Zuiden                                               1918-1963

Sallie Spanjer en zijn vrouw                                             1898-1952

Grietje Frankenhuis                                                          1898-1957

Henriette Spanjar-Cohen                                                            1895-1927

Erich Stern                                                                                 1906-1971

Bets Cohen, weduwe van Mozes van Engel                         

Mozes van Engel                                                                 1885-1936

Jacob Hoek, oud 89 jaar

Doortje Hoek, oud 77 jaar

Mozes van Engel                                                               1818-1916

Julia van Engel, oud 23 jaar                                             1897-1920

Andries Hoek, weduwnaar van Diane Prins                               1848-1925

Leo van Engel                                                                                  1929

Hanchen Bendix, weduwe van Nathan van Engel                      1859-1940

Nathan van Engel                                                               1843-1932

Simon Siwowicz                                                                 1887-1934

Julia Kan-Meijers                                                               1874-1953

Josephus Hermanus de Vries                                             1799-1857

Betje Samuel                                                                      1796-1869

 

 

 

Extracted from source (in Dutch) by:- H.H.G. de Jong-(Rhenen)

Translated from Dutch by Michael Jamenfeld

Review:-Ben Noach

End editing:-Hanneke Noach