Eliazer Morpurgo, born in Amsterdam on 19 August 1904, was a son of Wolf Morpurgo and Ricka Stern. His mother passed away already in 1926; his father was killed in Auschwitz. Of the Morpurgo family only his brother Meijer and sister Bertha survived the Holocaust; his little brother Maurits died in December 1906, only two months old but he himself and his sister Judith were killed in the Shoah too.
Eliazer Morpurgo married Rachel Ritmeester in Amsterdam on 2 May 1934, a daughter of Jechiël Ritmeester and Elisabeth Brandon. The couple lived at Nieuwe Kerkstraat 411 2nd floor in Amsterdam where also both their children Elisabeth and Ricka were born.
Eliazer was market vendor and dealt in irregular goods. Before his marriage, he had a vendor permit to stay with his merchandise at the street market at Westerstraat. The years after his wedding, he was a commercial traveller and retailer (according to his registration with the Jewish Council).
Eliazer Morpurgo had already been enclosed in Westerbork since 7 August 1942. Documents showed that he was still in barrack 84 in Westerbork on 7 November, however he had to move one week later to barrack 58. On 20 February 1943 he was sent to concentration camp Vught, were he stayed in barrack 43B. On 21 May 1943 he was sent for hard labor to the “Outside Command” of Moerdijk where he was accommodated in barrack 4.
Between 26 March 1943 and the end of February 1944 the old barges at the quays of the port of Moerdijk were used as Outside Command (Aussenkommando) of the concentration camp Vught (Konzentrationslager Herzogenbusch). About 500 Jews lived in these ship’s barracks. The Jews were deployed when digging tank traps in South Holland and the Western Corner of North Brabant. Political prisoners also came to the camp in Moerdijk. The camp was set on fire during the liberation of Moerdijk. (source: website tracesofwar.nl - buitenkamp Moerdijk).
Eliazer Morpurgo was sent back from Vught to Westerbork on 3 July 1943 and stayed there in barrack 62, till 10 days later, on 13 July, he was put on transport to Sobibor. There on arrival on 16 July 1943, he was immediately killed.
Eliazer’s wife Rachel Ritmeester and both their children Elisabeth and Ricka were carried off from Amsterdam to concentration camp Vught in the night of 8/9 April 1943. Rachel stayed there in barrack 29A. Whether the children stayed with her or else is not known. On 8 June 1943, Elisabeth and Ricka were deported with the so-called children’s transport via Westerbork to Sobibor. Their mother Rachel Ritmeester went with them. On arrival in Sobibor on 11 June 1943 they were all immediately killed.
Sources among others: City Archive of Amsterdam, archive cards of Eliazer Morpurgo and Rachel Ritmeester; the file cabinet of the Jewish Council, registration cards of Eliazer Morpurgo, Rachel Morpurgo-Ritmeester, Elisabeth Morpurgo and Ricka Morpurgo.