Term

Philips Kommando

By:

The workshop of Philips electronics company inside Vught concentration camp .

In 1943 the German occupying forces ordered the electronics company Philips to open a branch inside Vught concentration camp, the aim being to force prisoners to contribute to the German war industry. Philips complied with this request, but set certain conditions, one being that the workshop in Vught must remain under the management of Philips.

To be sent to work in the Philips Commando meant that one would not be sent to Germany for the time being. Jewish prisoners were exempt from deportation for a period of time. Philips had already set up a separate branch of its factory in Eindhoven for Jewish employees in 1941, the Special Assignments Bureau, or 'SOBU' for short. All members of the SOBU group from Eindhoven, together with their families, were transferred to the Philips Kommando in Vught in 1943. Just under a year later, the Jewish employees were directly deported from Vught to Auschwitz, but many of them survived.

For more information, see the website Philipps-Komando.

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