House Rozenburglaan 98 Swedish Territory

The house at Rozenburglaan 98 was Swedish territory during the war years. King Gustavus V himself had arranged this. This made the home address a neutral area, where no German was allowed to enter.

Before the war, the Dutch Jew Samuel Rodrigues de Miranda and his Swedish wife Elisabeth Strömbom and their three children, two daughters and a son, moved from Hamburg to Rotterdam West and later to Kralingen, first to Voorschoterlaan and later to 98 Rozenburglaan.
In 1943, Samuel and his children were granted Swedish nationality. It was officially granted by the Swedish king. The house even officially became a piece of Swedish territory. When Germans came to the door, Elisabeth stopped them there, saying that they were not allowed to enter Swedish territory. They accepted and respected and respected that. Fortunately, because the family had three people in hiding in the house. Not Jewish people, but men who wanted to escape the Arbeitseinsatz.
Almost the entire family on my father's side, 93 people, was taken away and murdered.
The De Miranda couple lived at the address until the 1960s. It is unknown whether the Swedish status was ever lifted.

Source: Old Rotterdammer October 5, 2021

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Source

• Text: Peter Schipper
• Photos: Maurice Laarman