* Amsterdam May 25 1936
† Amsterdam May 7 1945
Gerardus Bernardus (Gerrie) Cornelisse was born May 25 1936 as the youngest son of Jan Cornelisse and Catharina Wilhelmina (Catrien) Visser. He died shortly before his ninth birthday on May 7 1945 at 03.00 pm on the Dam as a consequence of bullet wounds.
Together with his six years older brother Jan, he grew uo in the Willemsstraat 171 were his father had a bakery ‘The Korenschoof’ and was known was his candy.
Anna Knuit, 92, knew the family well. Mother Catrien Visser (sister of Anna’s husband) was a woman with a golden heart. “Behind the shop lived a few elderly people, she brought them bread, hidden underneath her apron.’
“The parents were not able to leave the shop, so Gerrie and his brother Jan went alone to the Dam, the Canadians should come. In the crowd they lost side of each other. When he didn’t come home, they phoned around and were told that he was brought to the old church. When they arrived he was there, it was a tragedy. Gerrie was an unsociable, shy boy, he was never in front.”
Gerrie is buried at the cemetery De Nieuwe Ooster. Cousin Willy, daughter of Gerrie’s brother Jan:My father told us sometimes about the incident at the Dam but that was very brief. I’m afraid I have no photos.
Frits van Deelen informed us in August 2015 that he sat in the same school year as Gerrie’s brother Jan. Through this we known that Gerrie went to the Marnixschool.Frits and Jan,he was always called Jantje,were in the 6e class(primary school), together with Kees Quant. Gerry got the nickname”Bolletje Brink” named after a strip character.
From our investigation by the City Archives of Amsterdam seems that Gerrie arrived in the 1e class of the year 1942-1943. The Marnixschool was a school for boys and had 6 classes. In the first three classes the education was given by Miss Barends and in the highest three classes by Mr. Henk Canne Meijer(1890-1962). Via the list of pupils we found Gerrie Bood who gave us a photo of the 2e class 1943-1944.
Who recognize Gerrie at the photo above? Leen de Waardt recognize himself as the 3e boy left, second row from above. He stood with his mother at the Dam, hand in hand, at the corner of the Nieuwendijk when the shooting started. Enclosed by the crowd they were dragged into the Nieuwendijk. They got lucky, he thinks a lot about it.
Through the family tree, Paul van der Horst(*1940) was found, a cousin of Gerrie’s mother, her father was the brother of Paul’s father.
De Waarheid, August 14 1964, refusal request for compentation
Financial compensation
J.C. from Amsterdam was told that he had the right for compensation because his son was shot, by the Germans, during the entry of the Canadians in 1945 at the Dam. Could you inform me about that, asked C. He was misinformed. By the providing of the compensation, because of the agreement between The Netherlands and Germany, a number of categories of war victims are excluded, because it was not possible to establish that could be spoken of National Socialism. For that reason hundreds of fallen Dutch soldiers, civilians of bombardments or other combats, or men who were forced to work in Germany etc. were deprived of compensation.
Willemsstraat 171, bakery the Korenschoof. Source: Stadsarchief Amsterdam
