us-005578-irn676373
type: RecordSet
archival history: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
biographical history: Lisette Lamon (1920-1982) was born May 14, 1920 in Amsterdam, Netherlands to Hartog Lamon and Mintje van Dam Lamon. She had a brother named Isaac Lamon (1917-1991). Isaac fled from Amsterdam to New York in August 1938, and the rest of the family followed in May 1939, but Lisette was unable to bear the separation from her fiancé, Benjamin Soep (“Benno,” 1919-1941). She returned to the Netherlands, which were occupied by Germany in May 1940, and married Benno in October. In June 1941, Benno was arrested by the Germans, deported to the Mauthausen concentration camp, and murdered. Lisette joined the Dutch resistance, was frequently held in Nazi custody, deported to Westerbork circa October 1943, and transferred to Bergen-Belsen in February 1944. She was evacuated along with her in-laws in April 1945, and her train was liberated at Farsleben by American troops on April 13, 1945. She was asked to serve as an interpreter when the Americans discovered her German and English language skills. She asked Major Adams to have someone send a short letter to her parents to let them know she was alive and discovered that his parents coincidentally lived in the same building as her parents in New York City. She returned to the United States to rejoin her family, and she married Robert Mendels and later Victor Fink. She obtained a BA from the State University of New York, trained in the Program for Psychiatric Rehabilitation Workers at the Albert Einstein School of Medicine in the Bronx, and worked as a psychotherapist. Benjamin Soep (“Benno,” 1919-1941) was born March 2, 1919 in Amsterdam, Netherlands to Abraham (1892-1953) and Tonie Soep (1895-1980), and he had two sisters Catharina (“Ina,” later Polak, 1923-2014) and Josette (later Wolf, 1924-1996). He grew up in a religious Jewish household in Amsterdam. His father was a successful diamond manufacturer and president of the Amsterdam Jewish community, and he joined his father in the diamond business. He met Lisette Lamon while thei…
conditions of use: Copyright Holder: Mr. David Mendels
date: circa 1932-1980
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: 1
has or had identifier: 3
has or had identifier: 2
has or had identifier: 4
has or had some members with language: deu
has or had some members with language: nld
has or had some members with language: eng
has or had subject: 843
has or had subject: 2019
has or had subject: 686
has or had subject: 570
has or had subject: 42
has record set type: Item
identifier: irn676373
record resource extent: box 1
record resource structure: The Lisette Lamon and Benjamin Soep papers are arranged as four series: Series 1: Biographical materials, 1940-1951 Series 2: Correspondence, 1941 Series 3: Personal narratives, 1946-circa 1980 Series 4: Photographs, circa 1932-1945
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: The Lisette Lamon and Benjamin Soep papers include biographical materials, correspondence, and personal narratives documenting Lisette and Benno Soep’s marriage, Benno’s imprisonment and death at Mauthausen, Lisette’s imprisonment at Westerbork and Bergen-Belsen, and her immigration to the United States. The collection also includes photographs stamped"International News Photos” taken in Nazi Germany depicting Hitler and senior members of his staff, Kristallnacht, book burnings, firing squads, and hangings in the forest near the Buchenwald concentration camp. Biographical materials include Lisette and Benno Soep’s marriage certificate, a death announcement for Benno copied alongside a quotation from Stefan Zweig, a certificate documenting Lisette’s work at the Westerbork camp hospital, her Bergen-Belsen registration card, a travel permit allowing her to visit London after the war, a certificate documenting her postwar address in Amsterdam, and her United States naturalization certificate. Most of the records are photocopies, but the Bergen-Belsen card, travel permit, address certificate, and naturalization certificate are originals. Some of the documents are accompanied by English translations. Correspondence includes a postcard and letter written by Ben Soep apparently while in custody in the Netherlands and another postcard and letter he wrote from the Mauthausen concentration camp. The first two express Ben’s uncertainty about his future and his desire to rejoin his wife and parents, and they are accompanied by English translations. The other two are on official camp forms and describe his status, health, and address as well as the rules for corresponding with Mauthausen prisoners. Personal narratives include Lamon’s 127-page memoir consisting of vignettes describing her experiences in Amsterdam, her deportation to Westerbork, her imprisonment in Bergen-Belsen, and her liberation, as well as shorter individual vignettes, a speech drafted for Lamon in 1946, and ar…
title: Lisette Lamon and Benjamin Soep papers