Michel Salomon van Dantzig was the eldest son of Salomon van Dantzig and Hanna Cune. He was born in Rotterdam on 9 June 1919 and was working as a warehouse- and office clerk. He lives with his brothers Isidore Henri and Louis Willy at home with his parents, and moved with them to Den Haag, where his father in 1929 has been admitted in the Psychiatric Institute “Oude Rosenburg” in Loosduinen.
Already in 1927, his mother moved back to the Beukelsdijk 128b in Rotterdam, where her parents lived and her children went with her. Between September 1927 and July 1932, they lived at various addresses, however Michel Salomon left again for Den Haag already in October 1930 where he found living spaced at Stevinsrtaat 173, in 1932 in Seinpostduin 26 and in May 1934 at Gevers Deynootweg 34. In June 1936, he returned to Rotterdam to Beukelsdijk 12a.
It must have been September or early October 1942 that Michel Salomon van Dantzig ended up in Westerbork. Whoever also ended up there between 3 and 5 October was Elisabeth Sloves, a daughter of Hijman Sloves and Rebecca de Roode. She was born on 20 October 1919 in Rotterdam and lived there with her parents , sister and brothers at Aleidisstraatr 79a. It is not sure, whether Michel Salomon and Elisabeth have met each other before, but on 14 October 1942 they got married in Camp Westerbork, where also Elisabeth’s parents were present and signed the wedding certificate as witnesses.
Their honeymoon lasted only two weeks; on 30 October 1942 they were both put on transport to Auschwitz. That transport with 659 people, made a stop at Cosel, located ±80 km west from Auschwitz, where 200 men forcibly were separated from their wives and children, to subsequently being put to work as forced laborers in the surrounding labor camps in Upper Silesia.
Those, who remained in the train, were transported onwards to Auschwitz, to be murdered immediately upon arrival there. It is certain that this fate included Elisabeth van Dantzig-Sloves to: she was gassed on 2 November 1942 in the gas chambers of Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Most likely – but not quite certain – Michel Salomon van Dantzig belonged to the group of 200 men who had to leave the train in Cosel. Where he eventually ended up and under what kind of circumstances he has lost his life, is unknown. The Dutch Authorities after the war have established, also based on testimonies of survivors and research, that Michel Salomon van Dantzig has died on 31 March 1944 in Mid-Europe.
Sources include the City Archive of Rotterdam, family registration cards of Michel Salomon van Dantzig and Hijman Sloves; the Municipal Archive of Den Haag, family registration card of Michel Salomon van Dantzig; the file cabinet of the Jewish Council registatration cards of Michel Salomon van Dantzig and Elisabeth Sloves; the Wikipedia list of Jodentransporten vanuit Nederland.nl and the certificates of death of Elisabath van Dantzig-Sloves, nr. 1495 dated 31August 1951 and for Michel Salomon van Dantzig, nr. 158 dated 2 February 1952, both made out in Rotterdam.