United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Jacques Grootkerk (1913-1999) was born in Amsterdam to Isaac (Isi) and Paula Grootkerk. In 1940 he married Hedwig (Hedi) Grootkerk (1918-1992), who was born in 1918 in Nieder-Ohmen, Germany, to Juda and Klara Justus and moved to Holland in 1934. Jacques was summoned by the Gestapo to be sent to a work camp but fled with his brother, Erich, via Belgium, France, and Spain (spending time in internment camps in France and Spain) to England. He joined the Princess Irene Brigade, survived Normandy, and returned to Holland as a liberator to find most of his family had perished in the Holocaust. Hedi Grootkerk fled with her brother, Herbert, via Belgium and France to Switzerland, where they survived the war. Jacques and Hedi were reunited in Paris after liberation and returned to Amsterdam where they had their son, Paul. Hedi’s sister, Ruth, immigrated to the United States in 1936, and her brother Julius followed in 1940 with his wife, Alma, and son, Hans. Their brothers Herbert and Ludwig survived the war, but their sister Bertha Stern perished in Minsk in 1943, as did their mother, Klara, who was sent to Vught, Westerbork, and then Auschwitz in 1943. Jacques’ parents were sent to Westerbork and then Sobibor in 1943 and perished.
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The Grootkerk family papers are arranged as six series: I. Biographical materials, 1930-1951, II. Correspondence sent, 1939-1945, III. Correspondence received, 1942-1945, IV. Personal narratives, approximately 1942-1996, V. Photographs, 1938-1945, VI. Printed materials, 1934-1950
The Grootkerk family papers consist of biographical materials, correspondence, personal narratives, photographs, and printed materials documenting Jacques and Hedi Grootkerk’s marriage in Amsterdam, Jacques’ flight to England via Spain and service in the Princess Irene Brigade, and Hedi’s flight to Switzerland via France. The bulk of the collection is comprised of love letters between Jacques and Hedi while they were separated during the war. Biographical materials include identification papers, ration books, military papers, and receipts documenting Jacques and Hedi Grootkerk’s refugee status, Jacques’ time in England, his military service, and his military decorations. The two correspondence series primarily consists of letters and telegrams between Jacques and Hedi during the war, some of which were transmitted via Jacques’ uncle Abraham Leuw. These series also include Leuw’s letters to Jacques and Hedi, correspondence from Jacques’ parents and brother and from Hedi’s siblings, and official correspondence to Jacques in England and Hedi in Switzerland regarding their refugee status and his military service. Personal narratives include Erich Grootkerk’s Onze Weg naar Engeland; Jacques Grootkerk’s untitled essay about his flight from the Netherlands, journey through Belgium, France, Spain, and England, and his military service in the Princess Irene Brigade; and notes and essays about the brothers’ refugee experiences, including a talk on “Impressions of England” Jacques prepared for the British Broadcasting Corporation. Photographs depict Jacques and Hedi individually, together, with family members, and with the Princess Irene Brigade in the Netherlands, Switzerland, and France. Printed materials include a set of photo postcards documenting the German surrender, a booklet documenting the Princess Irene Brigade, and souvenirs from Jacques’ time in England including a bus map, lecture and dance tickets, postcard, and laundry tag.
Grootkerk family papers