Stumbling Stone Zijlweg 78

This memorial stone (so called Stolpersteine of stumbling blocks) commemorates:

MARIA VAN RIJK-VAN LEE

The small copper plaques, in the pavement in front of houses of which the (mostly Jewish) residents were murdered by the Nazis, mention the name, date of birth and place (mostly a concentration camp) and date of death.

In many other cities, mainly in Germany but also in other European countries, the memorials also can be found. There are already many thousands of these plaques and their number is still counting. Almost all Stolpersteine are laid by the German artist himself, Gunter Demnig.

MARIA VAN RIJK-VAN LEE
January 30, 1909 (Rotterdam) - August 31, 1944 (Auschwitz)
ZIJLWAY 78
Maria van Lee was the eldest daughter of the furniture manufacturer Abraham van Lee and Betje van Lee-Lavino in Rotterdam. She had a younger sister, Sara, and two twin brothers, who died as infants. Maria married Leon van Rijk, market vendor in fashion items, on 17 July 1935 in Rotterdam. They divorced in August 1939. After her divorce, Maria left for Amsterdam, where she worked as a live-in nanny for the children of a widower. When he remarried in 1940, Maria moved to Haarlem where she worked as a saleswoman.
On March 24, 1944, Maria van Lee arrived in Westerbork. There she ended up in barrack 67, the penal barracks. This may mean that she went into hiding and, possibly after betrayal, was arrested. Her deportation to Auschwitz on 5 April 1944 has also been classified as 'penal transport'. After arriving in Auschwitz, Maria was probably selected for forced labour. There she was murdered before the end of August of the same year. August 31, 1944 is a collective date indicating that her exact date of death is unknown.
Transport from Westerbork to Auschwitz on April 5, 1944.
Murdered in Auschwitz on August 31, 1944.
She was 35 years old.

Do you have more information about this location? Inform us!

Source

• Text: Reini Elkerbout
• Photos: Reini Elkerbout