Leonard (Leo) Yehuda (Jehoeda) Pinkhof

Leonard was the son of the family doctor Herman Pinkhof. His mother was a piano teacher. The family in which he grew up nourished his Jewish identity and his artistic talent. Leonard attended the HBS (modern grammar school) for three years before training as an artist at the National Applied Arts Academy in the Rijksmuseum. After his final examinations in 1919 he was admitted to the National Academy of Art in Amsterdam, where he attended classes in drawing from models, painting, and graphic techniques. In 1922 he was appointed as an art teacher at the technical school in Den Helder. He made his home in this town in March 1922 and stayed there until forced to leave in 1941. In 1927 he married Betsy Koekoek, a schoolteacher from The Hague. Pinkhof was an active member of the Jewish community in Den Helder. On 31 October 1936 he was elected to its committee. He often played a part in synagogue services. He also took an active part in the city’s cultural life. In 1925 he helped to found the local artists’ society De Noorder Kunstkring, which he chaired from 1927 to 1940. Leonard identified strongly with the city. This became clear in 1927, when he accepted a commission for a painting to hang in the council chamber of the town hall, a converted orphanage. His painting, which now hangs in the National Lifesaving Museum Dorus Rijkers, bears the title 'Represent us and lead' and is a symbolic representation of the leading and protective role that the burgomaster of Den Helder fulfilled for the local population. On this occasion, Leonard also designed the wooden inkstand that the Jewish community presented to the burgomaster. Many of his paintings and drawings feature Den Helder or relate to the town in some way. For instance, he made illustrations for 't Juttertje, the Saturday supplement of the Heldersche Courant. Leonard quite often received commissions from the Jewish community in other parts of the country, such as a design for a parochet for the synagogue in the southern district of Amsterdam, a design for the parochet of the synagogue at Folkingestraat in Groningen, and designs for several of the windows for the synagogue in Amsterdam’s eastern district. In November 1940, Pinkhof was relieved of his teaching duties and subsequently fired by order of the occupying forces. He and his family moved to Oudesluis, where they stayed with the Jippes family. He taught art at the nearby agricultural training centre Werkdorp Wieringermeer. In this period he produced a number of drawings of Oudesluis and the surrounding area. His stay here came to an end when German officers were billeted with the Jippes family. In September 1941 the family moved to Amsterdam. Leonard had found a temporary job there, at the A.B. Davidsschool in Valckenierstraat, starting on 1 October. Since Leonard possessed ‘Palestine certificates', which supposedly provided an opportunity of emigration to Palestine through an exchange deal involving German prisoners-of-war, the Pinkhof family did not end up in Westerbork until June 1943. A month later, Leonard and his family were transported to Sobibor.

D. Kila, De Kille aan het Marsdiep (Den Helder 1999)

Bruidegom: Leonard Pinkhof Geboorteplaats: Amsterdam Leeftijd: 29 Beroep: tekenleraar Vader van de bruidegom: Hermanus Pinkhof Beroep: arts Moeder van de bruidegom: Adeline de Beer Bruid: Betsy Koekoek Geboorteplaats: 's-Gravenhage Leeftijd: 22 Vader van de bruid: Salomon Koekoek Beroep: directeur Moeder van de bruid: Jettje Kisch Gebeurtenis: Huwelijk Datum: donderdag 22 december 1927 Gebeurtenisplaats: Den Helder