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Rob Cohen

Rob Cohen was a classmate of Anne Frank at the Jewish Lyceum.

Person

  • Robert Maurits Cohen
  • Amsterdam, Nederland Aug. 22, 1928
  • Amsterdam, Nederland March 19, 2003

Rob (also known as Bert) Cohen was a son of Henri Cohen and Johanna Coster.[1] His father was an interior designer[2] with his own interior design shop. His mother was a graphic designer and designed her husband's company's catalogues and advertisements, and illustrated invitations.[3] She was a sister of Maurice (Theo) Coster's father. Rob had an older brother, Sem Alma Cohen (1922–1988).[4]

In school year 1941-1942 Rob, his cousin Maurice, and Anne Frank were in class 1L2 of the Jewish Lyceum.[5] Anne thought that Rob Cohen was in love with her. Her description of him is rather unflattering.[6] In the story Do You Remember? she describes him giving her a brooch that came from his father's business. She wrote him letters when he was in hospital.[7]

Rob's father was in hiding in Zeist as ‘Henri Plasman’ with the couple Antoine and Anna Samsom-de Boer. His eldest son Sem - ‘Frits Plasman’ - found shelter at several hiding places. He visited his father once a week.[8] Rob's mother also went into hiding and performed resistance work by using her graphic talents to forge identity cards.[3] During the period in hiding in Leiderdorp with the Zaalberg family, Rob got to know daughter Aaltje, his wife-to-be. They married in September 1956 and had four children together.[1] After the war, he turned to importing lamps, glass and ceramics from Italy and Scandinavia.[9] Rob Cohen never wanted to read Anne Frank's diary or visit the Anne Frank House.[10]

Source personal data.[11] Addresses: Ceintuurbaan 376 bovenhuis, Amsterdam; Paulus Potterstraat 22hs (dec. 1944); Achter Oosteinde 8 (okt. 1956).[1]

Footnotes

  1. a, b, c Stadsarchief Amsterdam (SAA), Dienst Bevolkingsregister, Persoonskaarten (toegangsnummer 30408): Persoonskaart Robert Maurits Cohen.
  2. ^ SAA, Dienst Bevolkingsregister, Archiefkaarten (toegangsnummer 30238): Archiefkaart Henri Cohen.
  3. a, b Margreet van Wijk-Sluyterman, 'Johanna Coster', in: Jan van Coillie e.a. (red.), Lexicon van de jeugdliteratuur, Groningen: Martinus Nijhoff, 1982-2014; Allard Pierson: Collectie Johanna Coster, UBA741.
  4. ^ SAA, Dienst Bevolkingsregister, Archiefkaarten (toegangsnummer 30238): Archiefkaart Sem Alma Cohen.
  5. ^ NIOD Instituut voor Oorlogs-, Holocaust en Genocidestudies, Amsterdam, Archief 181e (W.S.H. Elte), inv. nr. 2f: Absentenregister klas 1LII Joods Lyceum, 1 maart – 17 juli 1942; Dienke Hondius, Absent: herinneringen aan het Joods Lyceum Amsterdam 1941-1943, Amsterdam: Vassallucci, 2001, p. 269-270; Wikipedia: Klas van Anne Frank.
  6. ^ Anne Frank, Diary Version A, 16 June 1942, in: The Collected Works, transl. from the Dutch by Susan Massotty, London [etc.]: Bloomsbury Continuum, 2019.
  7. ^ Anne Frank, Tales and events from the Secret Annex, "Do You Remember? Memories of my schooldays at the Jewish Lyceum", in: The Collected Works.
  8. ^ Geheugen van Zeist: Gedenksteentje Homeruslaan 18.
  9. ^ Licht is meer dan een lamp aan het plafond, Trouw, 26 oktober 1982.
  10. ^ Anne Frank Stichting (AFS), Getuigenarchief, Cohen: Gesprek met A. Cohen-Zaalberg, 14 september 2006.
  11. ^ Centraal Bureau voor Genealogie, Den Haag, Centraal archief van overledenen: Persoonskaart R.M. Cohen.
 

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