David Koker

David was forced to stop his studies in Philosophy and History in September 1941 when the university stopped allowing Jews to continue studying. The family did not go into hiding because they had received an exemption and believed they were safe. Still, in 1943, they were captured and transported to Camp Vught on February 11. David spent part of his time teaching children at camp. In July, he received a "Sperre" (temporary exemption from deportation) from Frits Philips and joined their "Philips Commandos". In June 1944, the "Philips Jews" were transported to Auschwitz-Birkenau from where they would be sent to other camps to work for electronic companies.

David's mother and brother, Max, survived the war. However, David fell ill and died during a transport of sick people to the Dachau concentration camp due in part to his illness and hypothermia in February 1945. His father died of exhaustion in LangenBilau, a sub-camp of Groß-Rosen.

Koker had published Modern-Hebreeuwse poëzie in 1941. The booklet (87 pages) was a bilingual edition of modern Hebrew poetry with Dutch translations. Cotranslator was J. Melkman, pseudonym for Jozeph Michman (1914-2009). The editor was Joachimsthal in Amsterdam. (Wikipedia)

David managed to keep a diary during his time at Camp Vught, which was periodically and surreptitiously sent to a friend in Amsterdam. After the war his diary was published in Dutch as Dagboek geschreven in Vught, 1977. The English translations was published in 2012 by Northwestern University Press