Opekta | Singel
Singel 400 was the home of the Nederlandsche Opekta Maatschappij from late 1934 to late 1940.
The property previously housed the textile firm Hofhuis & Janus. It was also the home address of Joop Hofhuis in the late 1920s,[1] and his brother-in-law owned it.[2] It therefore looks like Otto Frank was able to move to this location through his business network.
From the summer of 1933, Opekta visited fairs and women's organisations across the country for years to demonstrate the product. In January 1937, its own company kitchen served as a demonstration room. The second class of the Alkmaar household school visited the Singel on the 20th to learn the use of Opekta.[3]
In November of 1940, Opekta and Pectacon moved to Prinsengracht 263. A short time later, the paramilitary Resistance Division (WA) of the National Socialist Movement (NSB) occupied Singel 400 as a Unit House.[4]
Footnotes
- ^ Stadsarchief Amsterdam (SAA), Dienst Bevolkingsregisters, Gezinskaarten, toegang 5422, gezinskaart J.A.W. Hofhuijs (een eerder gecorrigeerde verschrijving is bij de digitalering opnieuw overgenomen).
- ^ SAA, Gemeentepolitie Amsterdam, toegang 5225, inv. nr. 7055, rapportenboek bureau Warmoesstraat, 24 april 1940, mut. 5.30 uur n.m.
- ^ “Huishoud- en industrieschool”, Alkmaarsche Courant, 31 maart 1937, p. 2.
- ^ SAA, Gemeentepolitie Amsterdam, inv. nr. 2956, processen-verbaal inzake gevechten 10 en 11 februari 1941, verklaring P.B. Ruppert, d.d. 18 februari 1941; Bianca Stigter, Atlas van een bezette stad: Amsterdam 1940-1945, Amsterdam: Atlas Contact, 2019, p. 197.