History of Sorts

These Dutchmen were the most despicable breed of men. They were not driven by any political ideology—but purely by greed.

Wim Henneicke was part of a group of bounty hunters called Colonne Henneicke. He betrayed and robbed Jews; between 8,000 and 9,000 Jews were betrayed by the group in 1943. Towards the end of the war, he began to pass on the names of other collaborators and infiltrators within the resistance to resistance members, most likely with hopes of building friendly contacts with the resistance. Wim Henneicke was a 33-year-old former car mechanic with shady contacts in the underworld.

Dutch Jew hunters started to track down and arrest their Jewish fellow citizens in the spring of 1943. The arrested Jews were then deported to the Auschwitz and Sobibor extermination camps, where most of them were murdered. Colonne Henneicke was a group of more than fifty Dutch people led by Wim Henneicke.

To track down Jews—a bounty of 7.50 guilders was paid for each reported Jew in the spring of 1943. In the autumn of 1944, this rose to 40 guilders.

Compared to other rewards, this amount was small but still led to the deportation of many Jewish people in hiding. On top of the other anti-Jewish measures, which led to the isolation and robbery of Dutch Jews, this bounty made hiding even more difficult and dangerous. In some cases, people in hiding were betrayed by the very people hiding them.

You can get a good idea of Colonne Henneicke’s working method because much of the administration has been preserved. In 1947, numerous documents were found in boxes in the basement of the Main Synagogue at Tulpstraat 19 in Amsterdam. However, it is unknown how they ended up here. Among other things, the payment forms for handing in Jews, as well as short reports about the arrests, were found here. These reports indicate who is arrested, where, with whom the person is hiding and whether the people providing shelter know that the people in hiding are Jewish.

This is an example of one of those reports

dated February 24, 1943, states:

“Subject: Jewish refugees Vos.

We have been informed confidentially that Aryan Jan Overduijn has an apartment in Amsterdam, Haarlemmerstraat 62 IV, and has hidden furniture belonging to Jews there. Upon investigation of the said apartment, we found that 4 Jews were also hidden there. We then called the Dutch police, and they arrested the Jews and handed them over to the SD branch in Amsterdam, department IV B.

The Jews are:

Salomon Vos was born 07-09-1914 in Amsterdam—a professional tailor, married, last lived in Amsterdam, Burmanstraat 15 I.

Sophia Vos nee Gold was born 10-08-1917 in Amsterdam, wife of the first mentioned.

Reason: The above-mentioned Jews hid with the Aryan Jan Overduijn, born on November 15, 1915, in Amsterdam, living in Amsterdam, Haarlemmerstraat 62 IV. The Jews did not wear a star and were also in possession of false IDs. A special arrest report has been drawn up against the Aryan Jan Overduijn.

Amsterdam, February 24, 1943. Employees of the Central Bureau for Jewish Emigration, Amsterdam, Criminal Investigation Department. FA. from Tol. and H. Klinkenbijl.”

The employees of Colonne Henneicke had different ways to track down their victims, the largest source of information was tips from the population. Sometimes people in hiding were betrayed by their fellow citizens, as can be read in the messages. Sometimes people in hiding were even betrayed by the people who gave them shelter, for fear of being discovered and punished or of receiving part of the bounty.

If there was one consolation Wim Henneicke did get what he deserved.

December 8, 1944, at 9 a.m., Wim Henneicke left his home at Linneausparkweg 79 and fetched on his bicycle. He greeted his neighbour Wim Vlaanderen and cycled towards the Hogeweg. A little later, near number 25, a few shots sounded from a porch. Henneicke fell to his death, and the perpetrator ran away.

Sources

https://www.joodsmonument.nl/nl/page/193952/sophia-vos-goud

https://www.oorlogsbronnen.nl/artikel/premiejagers-en-collaborateurs-de-colonne-henneicke

https://www.tracesofwar.com/articles/2620/Column-Henneicke.htm

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