Ernst Cahn

Hoe een inval in een ijssalon leidde tot de Februaristaking
In februari 1941 leidt het toenemende antisemitische terreur tot een geweldsuitbarsting in de Jodenbuurt van Amsterdam. Een aantal Joden pikt de geweldplegingen en vernielingen door Duitsers en Nederlandse nationaalsocialisten niet langer en richt knokploegen op. Eén van de plekken waar deze Joodse knokploegen vaak bijeenkomen is IJssalon Koco aan de Van Woustraat 149. Deze ijssalon is eigendom van Ernst Cahn en Alfred Kohn, twee Joodse vluchtelingen uit Duitsland. Nadat er bij de zaak geregeld ruiten zijn gesneuveld houden Joodse knokploegen hier de wacht. Op 19 februari valt de Ordnungspolizei (ook wel Grüne Polizei genoemd) de zaak echter binnen waarop een vechtpartij volgt en enkele Duitsers met ammoniak worden besproeid. Eigenaren Kohn en Cahn worden gevangen genomen en zitten vanaf 20 februari opgesloten in het Oranjehotel.

Februaristaking
Als reactie op de rel worden op 22 en 23 februari grootschalige razzia’s gehouden waarbij 427 Joden worden opgepakt. 389 van hen worden uiteindelijk afgevoerd naar concentratiekampen Buchenwald en Mauthausen. Deze gebeurtenissen vormen de aanleiding van het grootste protest tegen de Jodenvervolging door niet-Joden in bezet Europa; de zogenoemde Februaristaking van 25 en 26 februari 1941.

Ter dood veroordeeld
In het Oranjehotel zit Cahn ondertussen opgesloten in cel 578. Hier wordt hij 4 à 5 keer per dag afgeranseld met ‘gummistokken, sleutelbos, vuisten en schoenen’, zoals medegevangene K.W. Prager later beschrijft. Na bekend te hebben dat hij ammoniak op de Duitsers heeft gesproeid, wordt Cahn ter dood veroordeeld voor ‘het oprichten van een Joodse terreurgroep’ en ‘het gebruik van wapens en gifgas’. Kohn wordt naar aanleiding van de geweldsuitbarsting tot tien jaar gevangenisstraf veroordeeld en overlijdt in april 1945 in Auschwitz. Cahn wordt op 3 maart 1941 op de Waalsdorpervlakte gefusilleerd en is daarmee de eerste van de circa 250 verzetsstrijders die hier tijdens de Duitse bezetting de dood vindt.

The Farewell letters from Ernst Cahn


Dear Peter!

I am facing my imminent death composed and calmly. My only concern is you, and I am so sorry that I cannot leave you better taken care of. Everything that was mine is yours, and you can use it as you wish. My last request, when this war has ended, do everything to reach the children. That is where you belong, you will be well taken care of, you will be loved, and you can also make yourself often useful. Children and grandchildren will give you lovely times, and with these thoughts, I can die in peace.

Greetings and kisses from me to our Inge and Helgalein! It makes me happy to know that the children married well and are at a safe distance! What luck! Also greetings to Heuna(?) and Joshua(?), although I never had the pleasure of knowing them personally. I learned to love the two sons-laws, also from the scribble of Ingelein, shortly before the outbreak of the war.

I love you and make life worth living. “Enjoy your place in the son”, as our dear father said in his last farewell. That is what I wish you, my children, again. And regarding the grandchildren Helga and Joshua, may they bring you lots of joy and blessings. And you, my darling, thank you for all your great love, my love for you is forever, endless, and will be with you also after my death. My love, don’t be sad, fate has decreed such and not otherwise. Be brave, approach life energetically, and you will master it, for sure! Think of me! Remember the time between February 12, 1941, and March 3, 1941, and you will be able to face everything! You, my Peter, thank you for the many years that we went through together, but each and every time, our love conquered all, and our

[This paragraph has disappeared; text has faded over time]




[ERNST CAHN2]

and warmest greetings and I also especially thank Anne(?) again for her help during often difficult times. Klaus, Ilse & Rolf, farewell. Herman, my dear chess partner, I will not be able to “beat you soundly” after 3 drinks! Take care of yourself and your loved ones, then I leave you, for my peace of mind, the “Cahn” residence, Roon St. 31 which was for me and my beloved parents more or less the center around which everything revolved! Be well, Hermann, and may everything go well!

[This paragraph has disappeared; text has faded over time]

So, dear Peter, that was my farewell to the family and greetings from me, your dear Walther. You, who were always good and understanding and who, at the time, helped us so much. Alfred & Maria, my final farewell. Maria will remember us fondly once in a while and also our previous good life in Cologne.

For my beloved and adored Peter, the words of Hamlet spring to mind “To die, to sleep—No more—and by a sleep to say we end the heartache and the 1000 natural shocks that flesh is heir to—’tis a consummation devoutly to be wished! To die, to sleep.”
Therefore, my sweet, let me sleep in peace. Keep the love because maybe, we might still meet again!
I leave [illegible] in your hands, my Lord, and I
[ERNST CAHN3]



Dear Walter, Hede & children,
Today, I have to say goodbye to you “forever”. Thanks for everything that you have done for me up till now. I, from my side, will not forget it, although it is difficult to remember everything. Anyway, I will be eternally grateful to you, dear Walter, and I wish you good fortune, and that you will survive the war in good health, and that you and your family will be spared any misfortune. I hope that my fate, which I have to endure, will also have the best outcome for you and the two illegible] Also, I wishes our beloved Lia and all the children all the best. All the best to Luise, Kris, Uede - farewell.
With brotherly love, your Ernst.

[This paragraph has disappeared; text has faded over time]

To our good Walter, greetings, and thanks for everything that you have done for me.
Hede, Otto, farewell. I wish you all, you personally, and Klaus all the best. Hopefully it will be all over soon, so that our goodbye in Rijswijk will not be a goodbye forever.
Remember me fondly, warmest greetings from me. Liesel and Mirjam, I hope that you will have a good life.
Manfred, Hilde & Hans, greetings and most of all, [the rest is illegible; text has faded over time]

Ernst Chan