Willem Lampie was the youngest of the three sons of Mozes Lampie and Bertha Cohen. He was born on 14 October 1924 in Amsterdam and he worked as an apprentice wallpaperer. He lived with his parents and brother Jacob at Weesperstraat 18 2nd level. His eldest brother Salomon had already married in 1939 and no longer lived at home.
In the night of 25 to 26 July 1942, Willem was taken with Zug nr. 2 (train no.2) at 02.36 hours from Amsterdam Central Station to Westerbork, and deported to Auschwitz on the 27th. That transport included a total of 1010 deportees, all of whom would be used for the so-called “Arbeitseinsatz”.
The deportation train arrived at Auschwitz-Birkenau ±30 July, where the deportees were confronted with the appalling conditions there. Willem Lampie was put to work somewhere in the camp upon arrival, but it is not known where, nor whether he died from diseases, abuse or starvation, the degrading conditions there, or whether he was murdered in the gas chamber. The exact date on which he died there was not known after the war.
Therefore, after the war, the Dutch authorities determined, partly on the basis of research by the Red Cross and testimonies of survivors, that Willem Lampie could no longer be alive after 30 September 1942. The municipality of Amsterdam was then instructed to draw up a death certificate for Willem Lampie, which states that he died on 30 September 1942 in Auschwitz.
A few years ago, however, the death books still present – the Sterbebücher of Auschwitz – became available. These show that Willem Lampie was murdered even later than 30 September: he was actually killed on 10 October 1942. It should be noted that the legal date of 30 September 1942 is still observed on the Jewish Monument.
Sources include the Amsterdam City Archives, family registration card of Mozes Lampie, archive card Willem Lampie; the file cabinet of the Jewish Council, registration card of Willem Lampie; the archives of the Red Cross, transport list of 25 July 1942/nr, 6803 Willem Lampie/Train 2 from Amsterdam C.S. at 2:36 am; website Museum & Memorial Auschwitz-Birkenau/prisoners/Willem Lampie; the wikipedia website Jodentransporten uit Nederland.nl/27 July 1942 and the death certificate 118 for Willem Lampie, drawn up in Amsterdam on 15 September 1950 from the A-register 50-folio 21v