Tin candy container and lid used to store beads by a Dutch Jewish girl in hiding

Rachel (Chelly) de Groot was born on August 8, 1927, in Amersfoort, Netherlands, to Meijer and Sophia Swaab de Groot. Chelly had a brother, Levie (Louis), born on June 28, 1929. Chelly’s father Meijer was born on October 9, 1897, in Utrecht, to Rachel Bloemendaal de Groot. Meijer had five siblings. Chelly’s mother Sophia was born on June 10, 1900, in Utrecht, to Meijer (1877-1934) and Heintje van Leeuwen (1878-1935) Swaab. Sophia had six siblings. In 1932, the family moved to Arnhem. Meijer owned a hardware and electrical appliance store. The family was comfortable but not wealthy. They attended synagogue weekly and observed every holiday. Chelly and Louis were members of a local Jewish youth organization. Meijer and Sophia were involved with the Jewish Refugee Committee and assisted Jews fleeing from Germany. After the Kristallnacht pogrom occurred in Germany and Austria in November 1938, they took in an Austrian Jewish Kindertransport refugee, Eva Haller.

On May 10, 1940, Germany invaded the Netherlands. Meijer found a taxi driver who was willing to take them to a port city in the west so they could go to England. They could not get out because the Dutch army had flooded the roads. The Netherlands surrendered on May 14. The German authorities gradually implemented anti-Semitic measures. Jews were no longer allowed to swim in public pools or go to the parks. They were only allowed to shop between 3 and 5 PM. In late 1940, Chelly’s paternal uncle Israel was arrested and jailed on suspicion of working with the resistance. He had a trial and was released in February 1941. Mass deportations began in July 1942. On November 16, 1942, Dutch police warned Chelly’s family that a raid was planned for that night. Chelly and Louis stayed the night with one of Meijer’s employees, Herman Lagenbach. Meijer and Sophia arranged to hide with a neighbor, but he refused to let them in the next day. They went to Hilversum, where Chelly’s paternal uncle Israel was in hiding. He had contacts in the resistance and helped them find hiding places. Chelly went to a home in Hilversum. Meijer and Sophia eventually moved to Chelly to other hiding places. In 1943, Chelly was moved to Wormerveer. She stayed with the mother of the woman who was hiding Louis, Lies Stolp. After Louis left Lies’ home, Lies wanted to take Chelly so she could get paid more. Chelly’s parents found out and refused because Lies had mistreated Louis. They brought Chelly back to Amsterdam to stay with them. In December, Louis was sent to the Friesland province. Chelly remained in Amsterdam in with her parents.

In February 1944, Sophia, Meijer, and Chelly were visited by Dirk Onderweegs, the resistance member who was hiding Louis. He was active in the resistance and offered to find a hiding place for Chelly closer to Louis. Sophia and Meijer agreed and arranged for Dirk to pick up Chelly after Easter. On April 8, Sophia, Meijer, and Chelly were denounced by Ans van Dijk, a Jewish woman who worked for the Gestapo. She thought she was turning in Meijer’s brother Izak. Jaap Grotendorst, the Dutch policeman who came for them, was a childhood friend of Meijer’s and recognized him immediately. Jaap refused a bribe and arrested them. Chelly and Sophia were held in the Amsterdam police station, then sent to jail in The Hague. After about a week, they were reunited with Meijer and sent to Westerbork transit camp. On May 19, they were loaded into wagon 9 of a transport and sent to Auschwitz. When they arrived at Auschwitz on May 22, Sophia and Chelly were separated. Chelly cried so fiercely that a SS officer allowed her to switch places with another woman. Sophia and Chelly were sent to the gas chamber and killed. Chelly’s father Meijer was selected for a work detail and was killed on September 30, 1944. Her brother Louis survived the Holocaust in hiding.

Louis de Groot (1929-2020) was born Levie de Groot was on June 28, 1929, in Amersfoort, Netherlands, to Meijer de Groot (1897-1944) and Sophia Swaab de Groot (1900-1944). He had one sister, Rachel de Groot (Chelly, 1927-1944). In 1932, the family moved to Arnhem. Meijer owned a hardware and electrical appliance store. The family was religious and attended synagogue weekly. Louis and Rachel were involved with a local Jewish youth organization. Meijer and Sophia were involved with the Jewish Refugee Committee, and after Kristallnacht in November 1938 they took in an Austrian Jewish Kindertransport refugee, Eva Haller.

In May 1940, Germany invaded and occupied the Netherlands. On November 16, 1942, Meijer and Sophia were warned by Dutch police about an upcoming raid. The family went to Hilversum where Meijer’s brother Israel de Groot was in hiding and working with the Dutch Resistance. He arranged for Rachel to be hidden in Hilversum, and Louis went with his parents to Amsterdam. Louis, his sister, and his parents were all reunited in Amsterdam in December 1943. On December 22, 1943, Meijer arranged for Louis to go to Friesland to be hidden with Uilke Boonstra (1899-1944), a member of the resistance there.

On January 3, 1944, Louis was moved to the home of Dirk Onderweegs (1908-1979) and Ann Onderweegs (1910-1993), and their young daughter Bonnette Onderweegs (1940-1986) in Lemmer. They also hid Robert Wolf, a Jewish infant. Dirk used his position in Lemmer City Hall to obtain forged documents for Louis. In April 1944, Meijer, Sophia, and Rachel were arrested and deported to Westerbork. In June 1944, Dirk and Ann were reported to the Gestapo for their role in the Resistance, and they fled Lemmer with Louis and Robert. They assumed false identities, with Louis living under the name Leo Lemstra. They eventually ended up in Bolsward, where Dirk continued to be active with the Dutch Resistance. Louis was liberated in Bolsward by Canadian forces in April 1945.

After liberation, Louis and the Onderweegs returned to Lemmer. He later went to Jewish orphanage in Amsterdam. In 1947, Louis learned that his parents and sister were deported from Westerbork to Auschwitz in May 1944 and murdered. Most of Louis’ extended family were killed in the Holocaust. Louis was in Israel from 1948-1949, and then returned to the Netherlands to finish his studies.

Louis immigrated to the United States in 1950. He was drafted into the US Army and served in Germany in the Army of Occupation for two years. Louis attended Columbia University and received a degree in Economics in 1956. On June 7, 1956, Louis married Barbara Brenner (1935-2015), and they had two sons. Louis had a career in marketing with IBM, and was a volunteer at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.