Turfkruijer-Meljado family. Collection

Marcus alias Marc Turfkruijer was born on 17 September 1900 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, as the son of Dutch lapidarist Salomon Turfkruijer and his wife Lea Velleman. Marc had a younger brother named Isaac who was born in Rotterdam on 11 April 1902. The Turfkruijer family moved to Antwerp when Marc was two years old. His baby sister Ludovica alias Louisa was born in the Belgian port city on 16 March 1905. After the family returned to the Netherlands for a short while in 1910-1911, they settled permanently in Antwerp where father Salomon Turkfruijer passed away in 1923 at the age of 45. Marc, who had no interest in working in the diamond industry, ambitioned a career in journalism and became a prominent figure in Jewish sports and cultural societies. He founded Blauw-Wit [Blue-White], a Jewish sports and drama club, which offered its members activities such as chess, soccer, korfball, acting, etc. Marc himself acted as a soccer referee as of 1925 and became one of the top referees in the Belgian premier league, refereeing both national and international matches. He was also active in amateur theatre. In 1929 Marc left Blauw-Wit and his sports activities behind to focus on film. On 31 March 1925 Marc Turfkruijer married Rebecca alias Bertha Meljado, who was born on 13 July 1903 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, as the daughter of Hartog Meljado and Roosje Neuwit. Bertha came from a very sporty family. Her eldest brother Juda alias Jules Meljado was a well-known soccer referee while her younger brother Salomon alias Sam Meljado was a soccer player and the team captain of Germinal Beerschot with whom he won the Belgian national cup two times in the mid-1920s. Her third brother Simon alias Sim Meljado had also been a soccer player but he tragically died in 1930 due to injuries sustained during a soccer match. Bertha’s younger sister Sara Meljado played soccer for Ajax Amsterdam and for Antwerp Femina while also modelling, before she tragically died after being hit on the sidewalk by a drunken driver in 1932. Bertha’s second sister, Vrouwtje, was also active in sports and Bertha herself was a talented korfball player who played for the Blauw-Wit team. On 5 September 1926 Bertha Meljado gave birth to a son named Salomon Turfkruijer. He was raised liberal and was enrolled in several catholic youth organizations such as the scouts youth movement. When Nazi-Germany invaded Belgium on 10 May 1940 the Turfkruijer-Meljado family lived at Jupiterstraat 29 in Antwerp. They fled to Béziers, France, where Bertha saved the life of a six-year-old child suffering from diphtheria by sharing medicine with the child’s family. Upon their return to Antwerp in late 1940, the Turfkruijer-Meljado family settled at Gitschotellei 126. They were subsequently forced to obey the anti-Jewish decrees. Mid-December 1940 they registered in the municipal Jewish register of Antwerp. On 28 August 1942 a second nightly raid was on hand in the Jewish district of Antwerp. Prosper Thys, a policeman that knew Marc Turfkruijer, visited the family home to warn Marc and Bertha that they were not yet (sic.) on the list of wanted Jews. Understanding that it was only a matter of time despite having Belgian citizenship (which was protecting Jews against deportation until September 1943) the Turfkruijer-Meljado family decided to go into hiding. They found a hiding place with the family of the six-year-old child that Bertha saved in Béziers and which lived at Grotesteenweg in Antwerp, next to the Berchem Palace movie theatre. Marc, Bertha and Salomon witnessed Liberation there. Several of their relatives had been arrested, deported and murdered during the Holocaust: Marc’s widowed mother Lea Velleman, Marc’s brother Isaac Turfkruijer with his wife Laurenta de Vries and their twin daughters Suzanna and Lea, Bertha’s parents Hartog Meljado and Roosje Neuwit, Bertha’s younger brother Salomon alias Sam Meljado and Bertha’s sister-in-law Wilhelmina de Vries (widow of Simon Meljado). After Liberation Marc Turfkruijer continued his career in film journalism, leading the Antwerp branch of the Beroepsbond van de Belgische Filmpers, the Antwerpse Filmpersbond, from 1945 until 1975. He also became the editor of Weekblad Cinema [Cinema Weakly] and gave lectures on art, literature and film. He represented Belgium and was a juror at several film festivals, including Venice, Cannes and Berlin. He became honorary president of the Belgian and the international film press association (which he both presided for over 30 years) and was knighted in Belgium, France and Italy. Marc also continued to be a soccer referee until 1950, when his wife Bertha became ill. She passed away in 1967, Marc in 1990. Their son Salomon Turfkruijer married Maria De Witte. The couple had two daughters and several grandchildren. Salomon Turfkruijer passed away in 2008.

Anne and Patricia Turfkruijer, granddaughters of Marcus alias Marc Turfkruijer and Rebecca alias Bertha Meljado, were contacted by Kazerne Dossin in 2022 in preparation of an educational program on soccer and the Holocaust in Belgium. On 15 November 2022 the sisters kindly permitted Kazerne Dossin to digitise the photos and documents in their family archive and to create an archival collection.

Anne and Patricia Turfkruijer, 2022