David Engers

(Amsterdam, 1909)

DNB Staff

Jewish Amsterdammer and DNB staff member

David and his wife experienced the increasing reign of terror of the Nazis in Amsterdam. From 1942, as a Jew, he was no longer permitted to run his father’s car business.

The raids have left them terrified and desperate. They see no other way out than to turn on the gas and end their lives together. They are discovered, and David survives after being admitted to the Westergasthuis. He is helped to a hiding place in Varsseveld through Reverend Knottnerus. The parsonage is a hotbed of resistance in which David also becomes an active participant. He then moves in with the Sellink resistance family in Aalten, where he continues his resistance work under the pseudonym Ketelaar. Sellink is the headquarters of Bob Krul, quartermaster of Region 5 BS and right-hand man of BS commander Van den Wall Bake. Resistance fighter Wim Leuverink is also in hiding here. They join the DNB staff and support Bob Krul, who has become commander of the DNB.

After the liberation, David learned what had happened to his family members. His father was murdered in Sobibor in May 1943 and his mother in Auschwitz in January 1945. His sisters Hanna and Alida also died in Auschwitz, as did his brother-in-law David Leezer. His brother Sander was murdered in Sobibor. His brother Salomon and five children also perished in Polish camps.

David Engers married Trientje Haverkamp in June 1945. Between 1947 and 1952, three stillborn children were born. They lived in Amersfoort, where David practiced his profession as a car dealer.

David Engers passed away on 26 January 1976 in Bussum.

David Engers