Betty Marx and daughter Ruth Tobias

Betty Marx and Moses Tobias were both born in Germany: Betty on April 22, 1905 in Rachtig and Moses on September 6, 1904 in Betzdorf. They married and had one child: Ruth Tobias. She was born on October 8, 1931. Betty and Moses divorced in 1934. In 1938, mother Betty and little daughter Ruth came to Belgium while father Moses remained in Germany. Betty settled in Antwerp on Eglantierlaan 3. She was responsible for the upbringing of Ruth who stayed with the Schwarzbaum-Eidels family.

In May 1940, Nazi Germany invaded Belgium. Betty and Ruth obeyed the anti-Jewish laws of the occupation administration. On December 17, 1940, they registered in the municipal Register of Jews in Antwerp, and on March 23, 1942, they became members of the Jewish Association. Between December 21, 1940, and February 12, 1941, 3,401 Antwerp foreigners – mostly Jews – arrived in Limburg by order of the German occupying authorities. They were distributed among 43 villages and towns and were required to sign for presence daily at the town hall of the locality where they were housed. Since Betty and Ruth lived in Donk, a village in Limburg, from January 25 to July 26, 1941, they are probably two of those 3,401 Antwerp exiles. On July 26, 1941, Betty and Ruth returned to Antwerp and settled in Schupstraat. One year later, on July 29, 1942, they moved to Hoveniersstraat 13.