Overview
- Description
- The van Leeuwen and de Groot family photographs consist of pre-war and post-war photographs of Rachel (Chellie) van Leeuwen, her sister Elly, and their parents, Isaac van Leeuwen and Judith Degroot, in the Netherlands. The photographs are accompanied by photocopies with identification information provided by the donor's family.
- Date
-
inclusive:
circa 1934-1954
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Julia Lazareck
- Collection Creator
- Rachel Barish
- Biography
-
Rachel Barish was born Rachel (Chellie) van Leeuwen on September 21, 1936 in the Hague, Netherlands, to Judith Degroot and Isaac van Leeuwen. Her older sister Elly had been born in 1931, her family had lived in the Hague for generations, and her father owned a bicycle and small appliance shop. In May 1940, the Germans invaded the Netherlands, and the following year, Isaac volunteered to go to Westerbork (established in October 1939). He joined one of the first transports to the camp after believing a promise that in return his family would remain unmolested. He is believed to have been deported to Monowitz (Auschwitz III, established in October 1942) and perished there. Judith initially wanted to remain with her husband, but acquaintances in the underground convinced her to try to save her daughters. In 1942 Judith placed Elly and Chellie in hiding and spent the rest of the war working as a weapons courier for the Dutch resistance using false papers. Chellie, using the false name Loesje Frederiks, was placed with a Catholic family in a small town in the provenance of Limburg, and Elly was was hidden in several places and finally ended up with Johannes and Katarina Maria den Hollander. After liberation Judith learned the whereabouts of her daughters from the underground and came to pick them up. Judith supported her daughters by working as a prison warden for female collaborators. Chellie immigrated to the United States in 1958 and married Jerry Barish.
Physical Details
- Genre/Form
- Photographs.
- Extent
-
1 folder
- System of Arrangement
- The van Leeuwen and de Groot family photographs are arranged as a single series.
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- There are no known restrictions on access to this material.
- Conditions on Use
- Material(s) in this collection may be protected by copyright and/or related rights. You do not require further permission from the Museum to use this material. The user is solely responsible for making a determination as to if and how the material may be used.
Keywords & Subjects
- Topical Term
- Jews--Netherlands--Hague. Jewish families--Netherlands. Holocaust survivors--Netherlands.
- Geographic Name
- Netherlands.
Administrative Notes
- Holder of Originals
-
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- Julia Lazareck donated these photographs to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2014. Julia is the daughter of Rachel Barish.
- Record last modified:
- 2023-02-24 13:42:51
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn81868
Download & Licensing
In-Person Research
- Available for Research
- Plan a Research Visit
-
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Bowie, MD