Philip Frank was the son of Herman Frank and Rebekka Philips. His parents and his sister Alida died during the war. Philip had been appointed chief rabbi of North Holland in 1937. An enthusiastic spiritual leader, he was involved in the Beth Joles initiative, among other things. In 1943 Philip was executed by a firing squad as a hostage in Overveen’s dunes.
Addition of a visitor of the website
Philip Frank was chief rabbi of the North Holland synagogue district. He was married to Bertha (known as Bep) Dünner, a granddaughter of the famous chief rabbi Joseph Hirsch Dünner. The Franks remained childless. They took in a Jewish girl from Germany as a refugee. The family lived at 26 Ripperdapark in Haarlem.
Philip Frank was one of three children. His father owned a shop that sold workingmen's textiles, and his mother ran the household and was a saleslady in the shop. Philip Frank was appointed chief rabbi as a young man. His office did not stop him from doing the books for his father's shop.
On 30 January 1943 an Oberwachtmeister of the Nazi medical service was killed. In retaliation one hundred hostages were seized in Haarlem and transferred to Vught. Ten were executed at Bloemendaal, including Philip Frank. In the night before the execution Chief Rabbi Frank spoke with Lages. This conversation is reported in the works of De Jong and Presser. Soon after Philip Frank was executed, his wife and their refugee daughter were deported and killed.
M.H. Gans, Memorboek. Platenatlas van het leven der joden in Nederland van de middeleeuwen tot 1940 (6e bijgewerkte druk; Baarn 1988) , 805;
L. de Jong, Het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden in de Tweede Wereldoorlog; Deel 6 (juli '42 - mei '43) tweede helft (Den Haag 1975) 610-611;
J. Presser, Ondergang; De vervolging en verdelging van het Nederlandse jodendom 1940-1945; Eerste deel (Den Haag 1965) 333-335
Philip Frank appears on a handwritten list of the individuals who held offices within the Dutch-Jewish Community in Haarlem during the early years of the war. Photos remain of all the staff members.
Jewish Historical Museum, Documents collection, inv.nr 1001Jewish Historical Museum, Documents collection, inv.nr 1001
This person is commemorated on a memorial in Haarlem. More information on this memorial can be found (in Dutch) on the website of the Nationaal Comité 4 en 5 mei.