4 May

The monument to the Jewish residents of Amsterdam Oud-West in Amsterdam (Municipality of Amsterdam) consists of a metal plaque and two murals.

The text on the plaque reads:

‘CITY OF AMSTERDAM ARTIST: MOZES COHEN (TIEL 1901 – AUSCHWITZ EXTERMINATION CAMP 1942) YEAR: 1940 THE MURAL PAINTINGS BY THE JEWISH ARTIST MOOS COHEN, DISPLAYED ABOVE, WERE INSTALLED IN 1940 IN THE LOBBY OF THE CITY CLEANING DEPARTMENT ON BILDERDIJKKADE. FOLLOWING THE DEMOLITION OF THAT BUILDING IN 2003, THESE CULTURALLY AND HISTORICALLY VALUABLE PAINTINGS WERE INSTALLED IN THE HALLS IN 2014. DEPICTED IS THE AMSTERDAM CITY MAIDEN, LEANING ON THE COAT OF ARMS OF AMSTERDAM. SHE WAVES GOODBYE TO A SAILING SHIP, AS WITNESSED BY A BARGE. FURTHERMORE, VARIOUS TASKS OF THE CITY CLEANING DEPARTMENT THROUGH THE AGES ARE DEPICTED: AMONG OTHER THINGS, A SWEEPER, A HOSE OPERATOR, TWO RUBBISH COLLECTORS DRAGGING FLOATING RUBBISH FROM THE CANAL, AND ALSO INDUSTRIAL WASTE PROCESSING WITH CRANES AND MECHANISED ROTATING GRAB BUCKETS. IN MEMORY OF THE 165 JEWISH RESIDENTS WHO WERE DEPORTED FROM OUD-WEST AND MURDERED DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR, THE PAINTINGS WERE ADOPTED IN 2021 BY THE 4 MAY COMMITTEE OUD-WEST.’

Changes

The murals were originally installed in the City Cleaning Department’s office. Following the demolition of this building, the murals were stored for 11 years. In 2014, at the request of the West district, the TROM Foundation reinstalled the murals in the Passage at De Hallen. Prior to their reinstallation, they were restored and adapted for display at De Hallen. The West district council funded this. The murals were adopted in 2021 by the 4 May Committee Oud West in memory of 165 Jewish residents of Oud-West who were deported and murdered. In 2021, a plaque with additional text was installed.

The monument commemorates the Jews from Amsterdam Oud-West who were deported and murdered. Moos Cohen, the artist who created the murals, fled from the Germans in 1942 but was arrested in Switzerland and deported to Auschwitz. He was murdered there on 7 November 1942. The murals were created for the Amsterdam City Cleaning Department and depict various tasks carried out by the department.CommemorationOn 4 May 2015, a commemoration was held at the monument for the first time at this location. This commemoration was organised by Wim de Graaf of the Municipality of Amsterdam. Later, he, together with Roel Walraven, Ko Homma and several residents of Oud-West, founded the 4 May Committee Oud-West. This committee organises the annual commemoration at this monument.

Mozes Cohen was born in Tiel on 4 March 1901, the son of Levie Abraham Cohen and Rosina Cohen-Levie. In Tiel, his father worked in the livestock trade – he ran a butcher’s shop (which no longer exists) and was a cattle dealer. Mozes was the youngest in the family; he had two sisters (Lea and Kaatje) and a brother, Abraham. In 1912, Moos went to secondary school. He was a good student and a talented artist, and received tuition in Jewish rites and customs from Rabbi S. C. Kleerekooper. He was so captivated by this that he considered becoming a rabbi, but ultimately chose to pursue art; in 1921, he moved to Amsterdam, where he enrolled at the Rijksacademie voor Beeldende Kunsten (National Academy of Fine Arts).

Mediene

‍Moos soon realised that there was a significant difference between the Amsterdam Jew and a Jew from outside the city – the ‘mediene’. He found it difficult to connect with the community in Amsterdam. In terms of subjects, he was more interested in the surroundings than in people, and he painted very few portraits, except when commissioned to do so. In 1928, he graduated from the academy and remained in Amsterdam, where he had two studios, one at Prinsengracht 824 and one at Stadhouderskade 135. To support himself, he taught drawing at the Hendrick de Keyserschool and, during the war, at the Joodsche HBS. He produced many advertising drawings and painted technical subjects. Moos was a traditional painter who mixed his own paints.

Married

‍Moos was married to Truus (Geertruida) Bessems (born 20 August 1910), who was not Jewish, and the couple had no children. In 1942, he fled from the Nazis but was arrested on his way to Switzerland and deported via the Drancy transit camp to Auschwitz. He was murdered there on 7 November 1942.

Images‍

‍The two photographs depict two works by Cohen. The top one shows the Amsterdam city maiden, leaning on the coat of arms of Amsterdam. She is waving goodbye to a ferry. The bottom work depicts various tasks carried out by the city cleaning service: a street sweeper, a street washer, two refuse collectors dredging rubbish from the canal, and a depiction of industrial waste processing, featuring cranes and grabs. The paintings hung in the stairwell of the canteen of the City Cleaning Department on Bilderdijkkade. That building was demolished in 2003. These paintings, which have cultural and historical value, were cut out and stored until a new home could be found. They have now found a good home in De Hallen.

Every year on 4 May, De Hallen serves as an official memorial site in Amsterdam Oud-West. Local residents and others gather at the memorial plaque in De Passage to pay tribute to the victims of the Second World War and other conflicts. The commemoration is organised by the 4 May Committee Oud-West.