Samuel Prijs, born 6 April 1898 in Amsterdam, was the youngest son of Marcus Prijs and Mietje Gompers. He married there on 16 June 1926 to the 3-year younger Grietje de Vries, who was born in Amsterdam as a daughter of Jacob de Vries from Schagen and Gezina Rosenbaum from Zevenaar. The couple had one daughter, Gezina Mietje, who was born on 5 June 1932.
Samuel had a sister, Judik, who survived the Holocaust and two brothers, Levie and Barend who, as well his mother and he himself with his family, were killed during the Holocaust.
Samuel Prijs lived with his parents at Nieuwe Keizersgracht 4 1st floor, till he moved to no. 4 parterre after his wedding in June 1926. He started there a grocery shop with his wife Grietje while his parents remained living at the 1st floor. Two months later his father passed away on 23 August 1926 and his mother Mietje was left as a widow there. Besides a grocer, Samuel was also a commercial traveller.
The Samuel Prijs family was exempted from deportation (“Gesperrt”) by the Jewish Council. His grocery shop was designated per 31 July 1942 as a “Jewish Space” (Joods Lokaal) (J.Lok.A-627), were it was only allowed for Jews to shop. Because of this, also his wife Grietje de Vries and their daughter Gezina Mietje were exempted from deportation until further notice.
On 26 May 1942 the canvas fell also fort hem and Samuel, Grietje and Gezina were arrested and carried off to Westerbork, where they ended up in barrack 60. On 1 June the family was put on transport to Sobibor and on arrival there on 4 June 1943, they were immediately killed in the gas chambers there.
Sources include the City Archive of Amsterdam, family registration cards of Marcus Prijs and Samuel Prijs, archive cards of Samuel Prijs, Grietje de Vries,Gezina Mietje Prijs and Mietje Gompers; the file cabinet of the Jewish Council, registration cards of Samuel Prijs, Grietje Prijs-de Vries en Gezina Mietje Prijs and “Vermoedelijk op transport” (Presumably on transport) pages 42-43, a publication by Raymund Schütz.
Updated and supplemented 5 April 2020