Serphos family papers
The Serphos family papers include biographical material, correspondence, two diaries, and photographs relating to the experiences of the Serphos family while in hiding in Amsterdam, Netherlands, including false identification cards, family photographs, two diaries written by Maurits Serphos while in hiding, and postcards written by Bertie Serphos from the Westerbork concentration camp.
Biographical material includes an identification card for Maurits, false identification cards for Maurits and Benjamina using the names Simon Pieter, Willem Van Veen, and Theodora Koppels, identification cards for Maurits and Arthur stating they are Jewish, and papers granting Maurits permission to travel from the Netherlands under his false name. Also included are articles relating to Benjamina’s work with the underground movement.
Correspondence includes letters between Maurits and Benjamina under their false names, a letter from Bertie to Leo the night before she is taken away, a letter from the family hiding Leo to Benjamina, and two postcards from Bertie in Westerbork to her mother.
The diaries were written in Dutch by Maurits in 1944 during his time in hiding in the Netherlands. In his entries he writes about what he hears going on around him.
Photographs include mainly pre-war and wartime family photographs of the Serphos family including Leo, Bertie, Rita, and several of the families they lived with while in hiding.
- Date
-
inclusive:
circa 1928-1948
- Genre/Form
-
Correspondence.
Diaries.
Photographs.
- Extent
-
5 folders
1 oversize folder
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Rita Serphos
-
Record last modified: 2021-11-10 13:39:10
This page: https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn523487
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Object
Illustrated children's book read by two year old Rita Serphos while in hiding with her family in Amsterdam, Netherlands, from 1941 until the end of the war in 1945. The book was taken with the family from hding place to hiding place. Because Rita was so young, she was not allowed to keep the book with her, but she knew that she could look at it each time they moved.