Philip Gompers, born 17 August 1876 in Amsterdam, was a son of Levie Barend Gompers and Schoontje Jacob Boas, a family with nine children, namely Mietje, Barend, Sara, Elias, Naatje and Philip him self, who all have lost their lives during the Holocaust. Two children, Joseph and Marcus died already before the was and one son, Michel, survived the war but Naatje died in Amsterdam in September 1940. Philip married in Amsterdam on 1 June 1898 to Rebecca de Haan, who was born 6 February 1875 in Leeuwarden as a daughter of Philip Simon de Haan and Racheltje Polak. The couple had two children: Joseph and Levie.
Philip started his career as a diamond polisher, was an office clerk, became a wholesaler of leather goods and he ended as director of a factory of leather goods. He left Amsterdam with his family in 1902 for Hilversum where they lived in the Liebergerstraat 60, a street that was abolished in the station area by the construction of the Beatrix tunnel in 1938. Up from 1903 the lived again in Amsterdam, among others in the St. Anthoniebeestraat 19 upperhouse, per 9 May 1910 in the Ruyschstraat 25 upperhouse and after both their sons were married in 1921 and 1923 and had left their parental home, Philip and Rebecca moved into a house in the same streed but now house nr. 50 1st floor in Amsterdam-East.
Per 1 July 1942, Philip had this job with the Jewish Council; he became a “manager and employee bread supply” at the Nieuwe Herengracht 23 and had an Jewish Council I.D. nr. B-154. Because of that, also his wife Rebecca de Haan was exempted from deportation for the time being. Both had an exempt stamp nr. 16/92473 and 16/92474. Those numbers from the stamp series 80.000 till 100.000 were the actual Jewish Council stamps.
Their son Joseph was deputy general secretary of the Jewish Council at Nieuwe Keizersgracht 59 and he too was “gesperrt” (exempted from deportation). Their other son Levie fled to Switzerland in August 1942 with his family; they were caught and arrested in France and via transit camp Drancy they ended up in Auschwitz, where they were killed on 2 September 1942.
On Sunday 20 June 1943, the Germans held a large-scale and secretly prepared round-up in Amsterdam, where eventually ± 5500 Jewish Amsterdam citizens were arrested and carried off to Westerbork. Also Philip and his wife Rebecca and also their son Joseph and his wife fell prey to this round-up. Joseph and his wife however were released from Westerbork on 28 June and could return to Amsterdam. However Philip ended up in Westerbork in the penal barrack 67 and his wife Rebecca in barrack 58. On 29 June they were both put on transport to Sobibor and on arrival there on 2 July 1943, they were immediately killed in the gas chambers there.
Sources include the City Archive of Amsterdam, family registration card of Philip Gompers, archive cards of Philip Gompers and Rebecca de Haan; website Hilversum in vroeger tijd (deel 9) (Hilversum in prior times (part 9)/Liebergerstraat; Ondergang volume 1 by Dr. J. Presser, page 287/stamps; the file cabinet of the Jewish Council, registration cards of Philip Gompers, Rebecca Gompers-de Haan, Levie Gompers and Joseph Gompers.