Jack and Hedi Justus Grootkerk family collection

Overview

Collection Summary

The collection consists of military uniforms, medals, ribbons, and pins, correspondence, documents, photographs, and publications relating to the experiences of Jacques (later Jack) and his family in the Netherlands before and during the Holocaust and his escape to Great Britain and military service during the war, as well as the experiences of Hedi Justus Grootkerk and her family in the Netherlands before and during the Holocaust, her escape to France and Switzerland during the war, and in the United States with her husband Jack after the war. Accretion: Artifacts and photographs illustrating the pre-war life of the Grootkerk family. Included are nameplate [I. Grootkerk] from 67 Achillestraat in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Izak and Paula's [donor's grandparents] residence, two napkin rings engraved "Izak" and "Paula", humidor and cigarette box, photographs include images of Izak, Paula, and their son Jacques, their daughter-in-law Hedi [Paul's parents], Fredrick Servos [Jewish-German friend of Jacques who visited family in Amsterdam]. Also included are two small images of engagement party for Jacques and Hedi Grootkerk, 1938, in the Netherlands, Jacques amd Hedi's wedding dinner in which Izak and Paula's son Eric is seen as well as Hedi's mother, Klara Justus-Wertheim and Hedi's brother, Herbert Justus both of who did not survive. Also included are three pre-war pins or medals worn by Jacques Grootkerk on his military uniform while a member of the Princess Irene Brigade in 1942. Some of these materials may be combined into a single collection in the future.

Provenance

The collection was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1991, 1993, 1994, 2002 by Paul Grootkerk, the son of Jack Grootkerk, and in 2015 and 2018 by Doug Thweatt, on behalf of the Estate of Paul Grootkerk.