champion of decency

Amsterdam, Youth
1930

The older workers blamed me for the fact that he was dismissed. But I was a child, I knew nothing about it.

After the Technical school, Coen started work at Bakery de Hartog. He was 13 years old and the youngest worker. He was asked to do the piping decorations of cakes. As a result another worker, too old and too expensive, was dismissed. Because of this, Coen was taunted considerably, and also because he was an enthusiastic member of the Arbeiders Jeugd Centrale [AJC - Workers Youth Organization].