Verhaal

Isaäc Blits

Experience in the Holocaust

Isaäc Blits (b. 28-Oct-1918 in Amsterdam) was the second son of Simon Blits and Duifje Blits-Engelsman. Isaäc Blits registered for the military on 21-Jan-1937. He was reported as being 164cm tall and completed the 8th grade, as well as attending a night school for accounting. He was determined as permanently unsuitable for military service. He is listed later as being a barber in the archive card, probably in his father's shop.

Simon, Duifje, David and Isaäc all lived together at the home in Vrolikstraat 36 huis in Amsterdam at the time of deportation. The document included on this page of the Joods Monument, is from August of 1942, where David Blits was asked by the Diamond Industry Guild Head to submit a statement about his address, a current passport photo and his family members that had already been deported. In this questionnaire, David names his father Simon Blits and brother Isaäc Blits, including a description of their location. In the document, both are reported to be in 'R.W.K', presumed to stand for 'Rijks Werk Kamp' or labor camp. Using this form, we can narrow down the dates of deportation for Isaäc and Simon Blits to somewhere between May and August 1942 to labor camps in the eastern Netherlands.

Isaäc is reported to be in the Molengoot labor camp near Hardenberg in the Dutch state of Overisjel. Molengoot was among the small camps in Eastern Holland that were formed towards the beginning of the deportations in the Netherlands. In his book 'Joodenkampen', Niek van der Oord describes these labor camps as the very first camps at the beginning of the Dutch deportations in 1942. Spread throughout the eastern part of the Netherlands, these camps were primarily forced labor, before most prisoners were transferred further into Westerbork and beyond.

Through his concealed letters home, Camp Molengoot is well documented by Philip Slier, who was a resident of the camp concurrently with Isaäc Blits. As an interesting coincidence, Philip Slier lived with his parents at Vrolikstraat 128, only one block from the home of Simon, Duifje, David and Isaäc Blits. The prisoners were forced to dig a canal for a mill flume or mill gutter (English translation of Molengoot). The camp operated between April 1942 and Yom Kippur of that year on 03-Oct-1942, at which point the prisoners were further transported to Westerbork.

This date fits exactly to the first record from the Jewish Council of Isaäc arriving in Westerbork between 03/05-Oct-1942, where he stayed in Barrack 59. Isaäc Blits was among the 1,988 individuals transported on 13-Jul-1943 on the 18th transport from Westerbork to Sobibor. The train arrived in Sobibor on 16-Jul-1943. There were no survivors from this transport. Isaäc Blits died immediately after arrival on 16-Jul-1943.

 

Sources

Amsterdam Stadsarchief: Archive Card Isaäc Blits

ITS-Arolsen 130260977: Judenrat Card Isaäc Blits

van der Oord, Niek. Jodenkampen

Wikipedia: Philip Slier

Yad Vashem: 18th Transport from Westerbork to Sobibor on 13-Jul-1943