Henri Blitz was born 02-Mar-1918 in Amsterdam. When Henri registered for the military, he weighed 60 kg and was 167 cm tall. He was determined to be permanently unsuitable for service and was relieved on account of his brother Simon’s military service. Henri was a traveling salesman. Although he is recorded as living in Utrecht for one month, he lived generally with his parents Sara and Meijer Blitz at Kromme Mijdrechtstraat 20 huis.
Henri Blitz was the last child of Sara Blits and Meijer Blitz to be deported during the war. After the death of his mother and deportation of his father, he continued to live at the home at Kromme Mijdrechtstraat. On 24-Jul-1943, he was deported to Westerbork. On 24-Aug-1943, Henri was among the 1,001 deportees selected for further transport to Auschwitz. Upon arrival in the camp on 26-Aug-1943, Henri was among the 188 men and 48 women selected for labor in the camp. He received a tattoo of his prisoner number 139714 upon his arrival.
During his time in Auschwitz, Henri visited the infirmary at Krankenbau Monowitz. The Monowitz Camp was a sub-camp of Auschwitz dedicated to production for the IG Farben company for Buna, a specialized rubber for the war. Since the camp is not in the central portion of the Auschwitz concentration camp, also containing its own infirmary, it is probable that Henri was working in the Monowitz camp. During his first stay, he entered the infirmary on 22-Nov-1943 and was discharged on 04-Dec-1943. He visited the infirmary again from 28-Dec-1943 until 10-Jan-1944. Most prisoners in the Monowitz Camp who visited the infirmary were sorted soon after for extermination. Henri continued to work in the camp until he was killed. Henri Blitz died on 28-Apr-1944 in Auschwitz at the age of 26.
Sources
Amsterdam Stadsarchief: Militieregisters (Military Registration) Henri Blitz
Amsterdam Stadsarchief: Archive Card Henri Blitz
ITS-Arolsen 130261313: Judenrat Card Henri Blitz
ITS-Arolsen 507311: Auschwitz Infirmary Visit Henri Blitz 22-Nov-1942
ITS-Arolsen 507382: Auschwitz Infirmary Visit for Henri Blitz 28-Dec-1943
Yad Vashem: Transport from Westerbork to Auschwitz 24-Aug-1943