debora

A few years ago, the war archives in the Netherlands were opened and digitized. My mother then began a search for the refugee who had stayed briefly in their home in 1943 and was called 'Juffie.' Her name was not known because that was safer for everyone. The only thing they knew was that she came from Amsterdam. Careful research led to the conclusion that this young woman was Debora Bamberger, mother of Norman Bamberger.

My mother had just been born (July 11, 1943) as the fifth child in a young family. 'Juffie' came to the house the next day as a 'nanny.' This was at Dr. Julies Rontgenlaan number 6 in Bilthoven, where my grandparents lived at the time. Juffie had been in hiding at this address for less than three weeks when there was (probably) a raid on August 2. Debora was in the kitchen when the Germans entered through the back and front doors. Escape or quickly hiding was impossible. Quickly, she took off her watch and gave it to my grandmother. She said, "This is for the baby girl" (my mother). My mother still wears the watch every day to keep the memory of ‘Juffie’ alive.

Debora and my grandparents were betrayed. By whom, we don't know. Debora was arrested by the notorious police officer Peter Thijssen along with my grandfather. 

My grandparents were friends with pastry chef/luncheonette owner Henk Keers. The baker had once told them, 'If you ever get into trouble, ask me for help.' And so it happened. My grandfather could be freed with a pound of chocolates from baker Keers. That wasn’t possible for Debora. 

This baker was related to the woman with whom Norbert Bamberger was in hiding. It is very likely that Debora got shelter at my grandparents through the suggestion of baker Keers. 

Now that it is known that the woman in hiding, who in our family stories had been called ‘Juffie’ for all those years, was Debora Bamberger, my mother applied for a Stolperstein. That application was approved, and the Stolperstein is ready. They are now looking for a date to place the stone. 

Reconstruction of the investigation into the identity 

Request made to the National Archive, which has a database of individuals mentioned as victims in perpetrator files from the Central Archive of Special Jurisdiction. You can find more information about this archive here:

From this database, it does appear that a person was once arrested at Dr. Julies Rontgenlaan 6 in Bilthoven by the notorious police officer Peter Thijssen( Peter Thijssen, de schrik van Utrecht | Nieuws030 - Nieuws030) The person had the last name Bambergen/Bamberger, but unfortunately, no first name is given. 

The National Archive has, with this knowledge, made a selection of several people of roughly this age with the last name Bamberger. Then a selection was made based on the transport data listed on the Jewish Council card index. A large part of this selection was deported to the extermination camps before August 1943, and a few people later in the war. Deborah Bamberger is the only one among these people who was deported from Westerbork in August 1943. She was also deported to Auschwitz relatively quickly after arriving in Westerbork. This was probably because she was considered an S-case—a punishment case because she was arrested as someone in hiding. 

Next, a link still had to be found that would make it plausible that Debora was indeed the woman who lived with my grandparents. 

This was found in my grandparents’ circle of acquaintances. 

Norman’s people who hid him were Leendert Johannes Wesseldijk, retired Reformed minister, Lochem March 30, 1870 – Zeist March 21, 1953, and his wife Adriana Wilhelmina Wesseldijk-Keers (probably familiar to you).

My grandparents were friends with pastry chef Henk Keers – a relative of Mrs. Wesseldijk-Keers, where Norman had been taken in.

The findings were submitted when applying for the Stolpersteine, and this foundation was also convinced of the thoroughness of this research. Intern