Osdorp in Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands — Northwestern Europe
Ernst Cahn
Photographed by Andrew Ruppenstein, March 16, 2024
1. Ernst Cahn Marker
Remagen, 27 juli 1889 - Waalsdorpervlakte, 3 maart 1941
De Duits-Joodse Ernst Cahn en Alfred Kohn waren eigenaar van de populaire ijssalons Koco. Hun winkel aan de Van Woustraat 149 werd al voor de oorlog belaagd door de WA, de knokploeg van de NSB. Cahn en Kohn vormden met vaste klanten een eigen knokploeg en organiseerden verzetsactiviteiten. Op 19 februari 1941 werden ze na een inval door de Duitse Ordnungspolizei opgepakt. Kohn werd uiteindelijk naar Auschwitz gedeporteerd. Hij overleefde de oorlog niet. Cahn kwam in de gevangenis in Scheveningen terecht, waar hij ondanks zware mishandelingen geen informatie losliet. Hij werd de eerste verzetsstrijder die door de Duitse bezetter werd gefusilleerd. Na de inval op de ijssalon volgden de eerste razzia's. Dit leidde tot de bekende Februaristaking. Bij de Van Woustraat is een brug naar de twee zakenpartners genoemd. Aan de gevel van de voormalige ijssalon luidt de laatste regel van een plaquette: 'Gedenk de strijd tegen het nazisme en fascisme!'
The German Jews Ernst Cahn and Alfred Kohn were the owners of the popular ice cream parlor Koco. Their shop at the Van Woustraat 149 had already been attacked by the WA, the armed faction of the NSB (i.e, Dutch Nazis) prior to the war. Cahn and Kohn, along with their regular customers, formed their own fighting team and organized resistance activities. On February 19, 1941 they were raided and arrested by the German Ordnungspolizei. Kohn was eventually deported to Auschwitz. He did not survive the war. Cahn ended up in prison in Scheveningen, where he did not release any information despite serious abuse. He became the first resistance fighter captured by the German occupiers to be shot. After the raid on the ice cream parlour the first deportation raids followed. This led to the famous February strike. On Van Woustraat there is a bridge dedicated to the two business partners. On the facade of the former ice cream parlor, the last line of a plaque reads: 'Remember the fight against Nazism and fascism!'
Erected 2024
this page online
Topics and series. This memorial is listed in this topic list: War, World II. In addition, it is included in the Give Streets a Face / Geef Straten Een Gezicht, and the Heroes of the Dutch Resistance (GSEG) series lists. A significant historical date for this entry is February 19, 1941.
Location. 52° 21.031′ N, 4° 47.02′ E. Memorial is in Amsterdam, Noord-Holland (North Holland). It is in Osdorp. It is on Ernst Cahnsingel. Touch for map. Memorial is at or near this postal address: Ernst Cahnsingel 51, Amsterdam, Noord-Holland 1060 RE, Netherlands. Touch for directions.
Regionally, it is in Europe, the European Union, Atlantic Europe, the Benelux Low Countries, the Schengen Area, Western Europe, and the Western World. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Roman Empire and specifically also the Holy Roman Empire.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Anthoon Koejemans (within shouting distance of this marker); Cornelis Dijksterhuis (about 90 meters away, measured in a direct line); Eduard Hellendoorn (about 90 meters away); Jan Peppink (about
Photographed by Andrew Ruppenstein, March 16, 2024
2. Ernst Cahn Marker - wide view
Related marker. Click here for another marker that is related to this marker. The plaque mentioned on this marker
Also see . . . Ernst Cahn (Wikipedia, in Dutch).
Excerpt (in translation): Ernst Cahn (Remagen, July 27, 1889 Waalsdorpervlakte, March 3, 1941) was the first resistance fighter to be executed by the Nazis in the Netherlands during the Second World War. Cahn was not Dutch, but a Jewish emigrant who fled from Germany.(Submitted on April 10, 2024.)
Cahn was a merchant and, together with Alfred Kohn (Berlin, April 8, 1890 - Auschwitz, probably January 18, 1945), owner of the ice cream parlors Koco at Van Woustraat 149 and Rijnstraat in Amsterdam. Both men were Jewish refugees from Germany. Resistance activities were organized from the ice cream parlor in Van Woustraat, the parlor was the home base for Jewish gangs, of which Cahn was a member, and the resistance against the anti-Jewish riots of February 1941 was organized from the parlor.
On February 19, 1941, the ice cream parlor was more or less accidentally raided by the Grόne Polizei, resulting in a major brawl during which ammonia gas was released. It is unclear whether the installation was premeditated or whether it was merely an accident in which a German accidentally knocked over a bottle of ammonia needed to make ice cream. According to De Jong, it was intentional. There are incriminating and exculpatory statements regarding the events at Koco ice cream parlor. Cahn and Kohn were arrested and imprisoned and neighborhood raids were held, which would become the occasion for the February strike.
Credits. This page was last revised on April 10, 2024. It was originally submitted on April 10, 2024, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. This page has been viewed 180 times since then and 38 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on April 10, 2024, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California.
