David Cohen (31 December 1882,

Deventer Deventer (; Sallaans dialect, Sallands: ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Salland historical region of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Overijssel, ...

– 3 September 1967,

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

) was a Dutch

classicist Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

and

papyrologist Papyrology is the study of manuscripts of ancient literature, correspondence, legal archives, etc., preserved on portable media from antiquity, the most common form of which is papyrus, the principal writing material in the ancient civilizations ...

and one of the two chairs of the (, or , of Amsterdam) during the occupation of the

Netherlands in World War II Despite Dutch neutrality, Nazi Germany German invasion of the Netherlands, invaded the Netherlands on 10 May 1940 as part of ''Fall Gelb'' (Case Yellow). On 15 May 1940, one day after the Rotterdam Blitz, bombing of Rotterdam, the Dutch forces ...

. He was Professor of Ancient History at the

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, ) is a public university, public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Established in 1632 by municipal authorities, it is the fourth-oldest academic institution in the Netherlan ...

and a prominent

Zionist Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

leader.

Education and career until 1940

Cohen was educated at

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; ) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. Established in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince of Orange as a Protestantism, Protestant institution, it holds the d ...

. He was a teacher in

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

and became a private lecturer at the

University of Leiden Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; ) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. Established in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange as a Protestant institution, it holds the distinction of being the oldest university in the Neth ...

. In 1924 he became a professor by special appointment at the same university. Two years later he was appointed full professor of Ancient History at the Municipal

. Cohen was one of the founders and editor of ''Hermeneus: Monthly Magazine for Ancient Culture'', the first edition of which appeared in 1928.

Second World War and after

In 1941 Cohen and Asscher were appointed by the German occupiers as chairs of the Jewish Council for Amsterdam. In September 1943, Cohen and

Abraham Asscher Abraham Asscher (19 September 1880 – 2 May 1950) was a History of the Jews in the Netherlands, Dutch Jewish businessman from Amsterdam, a politician, and a leader of his community who attained notoriety for his role during the History of the N ...

were themselves arrested and taken to the

Westerbork transit camp Camp Westerbork (, , Drents: ''Börker Kamp; Kamp Westerbörk''), also known as Westerbork transit camp, was a Nazi transit camp in the province of Drenthe in the Northeastern Netherlands, during World War II. It was located in the municipality ...

. Later they were deported from there, Cohen to the Theresienstadt concentration camp. There he survived the war. After the war, the presidency of the Jewish Council was severely criticized. In 1947, the Jewish Honor Council forbade him to fulfill a position within the Jewish community; this decision was canceled in 1950. Cohen did, however, regain his professorship after the war at the University of Amsterdam, where he retired in 1953.

Family

David Cohen was married to Cornelia (Corrie) Slijper (1881-1953) since 1912. He divorced her after the Second World War. Together they had three children, the architect Herman Cohen (1914–2005), who helped build the state of Israel from 1939 to 1967, nurse and resistance fighter Virrie Cohen (1916-2008) and Mirjam Cohen (1920-1990). One of David Cohen's grandchildren, son of daughter Virrie, is former doctor and former PvdA politician

Rob Oudkerk Robert Herman (Rob) Oudkerk (born 20 March 1955 in Amsterdam) is a Dutch politician and general practitioner. Oudkerk was born in Amsterdam. He was the son of a Judaism, Jewish butcher and a nurse. His grandfather was David Cohen (historian), Davi ...

. David was a brother of the well-known writer .

Literature

* David Cohen, ''Roaming and Wandering. The Jewish Refugees in the Netherlands in the Years 1933–1940. With an Introduction About the Years 1900–1933.'' Haarlem: De Erven F. Bohn NV, 1955. * , ''Rome, Athens, Jerusalem. Life and Work of Prof. Dr. David Cohen.'' Groningen: Historical Publisher, 2000, * Herman Cohen, ''Jew in Palestine. Memories 1939–1948.'' Amsterdam: Meulenhoff, 1995, * Erik Somers, ''President of the Jewish Council. The Memories of David Cohen (1941–1943). Introduced and annotated by Erik Somers.'' Zutphen: Walburg Press, 2010,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cohen, David 1882 births 1967 deaths Theresienstadt Ghetto survivors Dutch Zionists Academic staff of Leiden University 20th-century Dutch historians People from Deventer Academic staff of the University of Amsterdam Jewish Council of Amsterdam Papyrologists