Every year on 4th May, NS commemorates the its staff members who fell during the Second World War. Shortly after the war, bronze plaques were placed at locations where there were fatalities in the years between 1940 and 1945. The names of the deceased can be read in alphabetical order on these plaques.
One of these plaques is located at Amsterdam Centraal, on the platform facade near track 2b. Here, at 20:00 on 4th May, the fate of 49 employees of the Dutch Railways (NS) from Amsterdam and the surrounding area will be remembered. They died as a result of various forms of terror and acts of war. The annual wreath laying at the plaque that lists their names is a tribute to them and their relatives.
Of this group of 49 employees, 3 women and 28 men lost their lives due to their Jewish origins. They held a variety of positions at the Dutch Railways. They perished in concentration and extermination camps in the east, such as Auschwitz-Birkenau and Sobibor.
Their names are
Levie Aardewerk – Meijer Beugeltas – Louis Colmans – Betsy H. van Creveld – Jacob van Dam – Joël Denneboom – Emmanuel Dikker- Mietje Frankenhuis – Hartog van der Goen – Salomon Haag – Mannes Koopman Haas – Eliazer Hillesum – Abraham Kok – Samuel Koster – Aaron Leman – Carolina Lindeman – Isaac van Loggum – Emmanuel Nabarro – Joseph Pens – Tobias Philips – Emmanuel van Praag – Moses Presser – Hartog Roeper – Isaäc Senator – Freek Simons – Moses Springer – Philip Vischschraper – Izak de Vries – L. H. Vrieslander – Emmanuel Zeldenrust – Bernard Zondervan.
The remaining workers died due to their trains being shelled, or as a result of reprisals, such as during the Railway Strike which took place between 17th September 1944 until liberation in May 1945. A few lost their lives while active as resistance fighters.
Their names are
Altena – W. Bom – G. van Eeden – IJ. Eggens – D. Th. Geerlings – J.Th. de Haan – F. Houttuin – G. Justema – Klaas Landsman – K.H.J. Mercier – G. Olij – W. van de Pol – T.J. de Rek – Th.M. Roest van Limburg – G. Schuurman – J.H.M. Visser – Jan Vlug – T. van Zanen.