Schiffmachers want images for Jews taken from their home: “More than 30 people have disappeared”

Louise Schiffmacher is currently putting the finishing touches to the Leendert Pop statue. He was one of the residents of Pension Verdooner, which was located in the house where she now lives with Henk Schiffmacher. The 83-year-old Pop was a retired tinker who worked at the Albert Cuyp, and has now been immortalized by Louise in a wax figure.

Great past

“This does sink in, because you realize: he was a father of eleven children,” said Schiffmacher. “You meet the grandchildren and that man was 83 and was taken away by train. That won’t leave you in the cold.”

Through a photo supplement from Het Parool in 2010, the Schiffmachers discovered the war history of their home. Until then, it was completely unknown to the couple. “Then it turned out that we had such a scandalous past, which was really shocking,” said Henk Schiffmacher. “More than 30 people have disappeared from that house.”

When an opening of the house was organized not much later, on May 5, they met Leendert Pop’s grandchildren. They left behind a photo of him, which hung in the house for years. The couple develop a bond with Pop and fantasize about what kind of man he might have been. Extra special for Louise, her grandparents had a bakery on Weesperzijde. So besides the fact that she has lived there with Henk for thirty years, there is a chance that Leendert Pop knew her grandparents.

When the photo faded somewhat after years, Louise decided to immortalize it. Sparked by contact with Rogier Schravendeel, who has been mapping the war history of Amsterdam East for nine years. Through his search for stories, he also came into contact with the Schiffmachers and together they talked about the history of Pension Verdooner.

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The trio decided that there should be something in honor of this story on the Weesperzijde. “They kept asking: what can we do?” Schravendeel describes the contact. “We have to do something, because there were 36 people living in our house and they were all murdered. And that’s how we came together.”

There was talk about stumbling blocks, but the Schiffmachers did not really like that. “Then we thought: should we make 36 of those bronze stumbling stones in front of the door?” Henk says. “Then you have such a huge field of those things, which is not really nice. We might be better off doing something more fun.”

Crowdfunding

At that moment Louise decided to start with the image of Leendert Pop. “You create a bond,” she says, tapping the statue. “And I also have a line with this man’s grandchildren. They like that I do it and that Rogier and Henk get involved. We really hope that he will get a place overlooking the Amstel. And that he will also symbolizes all the other people who were taken away.”

An emotional and intense process is now coming to a climax. The statue is standing, but now a crowdfunding cover the costs of casting in bronze, the base and the necessary safety measures. Rogier Schravendeel is also in discussions with the district on behalf of the three.

District director Jan-Bert Vroege is enthusiastic, he says in a response: “The district is happy with this initiative by involved residents. The work of art deserves a place where the image comes into its own. It is a wonderful thing that residents are so committed to preserving a memory. The image of Leendert Pop contributes to the preservation of the memory of Jewish history and Jewish residents of the Weesperzijdebuurt. We will work with all parties involved to ensure that this statue is given a suitable place in the public space.”