Opekta

We are standing in front of Singel 400, the place where, from late 1934 until late 1940, the Nederlandsche Opekta Maatschappij — Otto Frank’s company — was based. Opekta sold pectin, a natural fruit extract used to make jam set. With this simple product, Otto Frank helped families across the Netherlands preserve their own fruit — a small success in unsettled times. But one spring day in April 1940, disaster struck. Above the office lived the painter Gerrit Jongert and his family. His young son, left alone for a moment, began to play with matches, and within minutes flames leapt from the windows. The fire brigade arrived with three motor pumps and a ladder truck; thirteen firefighters worked together to bring the blaze under control, using 4,500 litres of water from the River Vecht. In Jongert’s apartment and studio, the panelling and several paintings were destroyed, yet the Opekta offices below survived, soaked but intact. Singel 400 tells the story of Otto Frank’s early years as a businessman in Amsterdam — a moment of energy and hope before the war’s shadow fell.