Many people will probably take notice that the facade of a building on Marktstraat in Assen is being renovated. But that does not apply to Niek van der Oord, for whom it is a special renovation.
He has been living in the apartment above since the summer. Literally on top of the family history of his Jewish ancestors, the Stern family. “My grandparents started a textile shop at the Nieuwe Huizen in the 1920s. It was so successful that my grandfather purchased this building in 1937 and completely renovated it.”
The first stone was laid by the three children of the family, Hetty, Jenny and Leny. Jenny Stern is Van der Oord’s mother. The family is doing well in the late 1930s, but then war breaks out. A war that turned out to be disastrous for the family.
Not only Van der Oord’s grandparents die, but also his aunt Leny. “She was murdered in Sobibor at the age of 7.” The older sister Hetty survived the war by going into hiding. “My mother Jenny was in Camp Westerbork, but escaped.” Jenny Stern goes into hiding and survives the war. She eventually died in July 2020 at the age of 94.
After the war, the building remains in the family. Van der Oord now wants to restore it, not only from the outside but also from the inside. He points to a large stained glass window in a door. “This hung above the original front door of the Stern store,” he says. “During the renovation of the house, it turned out that the walkable attic still contained old stained glass. It hung in two parts above the shop, but was in poor condition.”
Van der Oord took it to a glass workshop, which made one piece from the two pieces. “It is very vulnerable, that is why we now have it hanging indoors.”
The Assenaar continues to build steadily, both on the house and on new memories. But what remains is history and not just in his mind. “These are the stumbling stones that were placed more than ten years ago,” he points to the memorial stones that are now in the house. “These are for my grandparents and aunt Leny. They are normally located in front of the building, but due to the renovation of the street they have been temporarily removed. When the facade is finished, the stones will be given a prominent place again.”