This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Drmies (talk | contribs) at 00:07, 7 September 2014. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 00:07, 7 September 2014 by Drmies (talk | contribs)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Maurits "Maup" Caransa (1916-2009) was a Dutch businessman who became one of the most important real estate developers in post-World War II Amsterdam.
Biography
Caransa was born into a family of Sephardi Jews. He grew up poor, and had his first paying job at age 5. At age 16, according to a well-known story, he bought a wrecked car and sold it part by part. During World War II his parents and three brothers were taken away to the German camps. He married a Catholic woman in 1941 and thus (combined with his apparently non-Jewish appearance) managed to survive World War II, living in Amsterdam's Jodenbuurt, its Jewish quarter. His parents and brothers did not return from Germany, leaving Maup and his sister Femma as the family's only survivors. After the war he began a career as a trader in just about everything, but especially real estate, and toward the end of his life he had acquired many of the properties in the Jodenbuurt. With his money the Maupoleum (reportedly the ugliest building in the city or even the country) was built--originally named the Burgemeester Tellegenhuis, it became named for him.
References
- Verkerk, Corrie (8 August 2009). "Ten Slotte Maup Caransa 1916 - 2009". Het Parool (in Dutch). Retrieved 7 September 2014.
- Kuper, Simon (2012). Ajax, the Dutch, the War: The Strange Tale of Soccer During Europe's Darkest Hour. Nation Books. p. 193. ISBN 9781568587233.