Henri Blitz was born 02-Mar-1918 in Amsterdam. When Henri registered for the military, he weighed 60 kg and was 167 cm tall. He was determined to be permanently unsuitable for service and was relieved on account of his brother Simon’s military service. Henri was a traveling salesman. Although he is recorded as living in Utrecht for one month, he lived generally with his parents Sara and Meijer at Kromme Mijdrechtstraat 20 huis.
Henri Blitz was the last child of Sara Blits and Meijer Blitz to be deported during the war. After the death of his mother in July, 1942 and deportation of his father in September, 1942, he continued to live at the home at Kromme Mijdrechtstraat. In February, 1943, the Ehrlich family (Hans, b. 14-Aug-1919, Eva, b. 17-Mar-1921 and son Rudolf, b. 26-Apr-1942) moved into the apartment at Kromme Mijdrechtstraat 20 huis. The family had been living in Amersfoort until the forced relocation of the Jews in the Province of Utrecht. Their second son Herbert was born in the apartment on 04-May-1943. The family continued to live in the home until June, 1943 at which point they went into hiding. The documentation clearly demonstrates the family lived in the apartment of the Blitz family. Additionally the documentation shows that they lived there during the same time as Henri Blitz. However, there is no definitive evidence that they all lived there together, or if the families knew each other.
On 24-Jul-1943, Henri Blitz was deported to Westerbork. On 24-Aug-1943, he was among the 1,001 deportees selected for further transport to Auschwitz. Upon arrival in the camp on 26-Aug-1943, Henri was among the 188 men and 48 women selected for labor in the camp. He received a tattoo of his prisoner number 139714 upon his arrival.
During his time in Auschwitz, Henri visited the infirmary at Krankenbau Monowitz. The Monowitz Camp was a sub-camp of Auschwitz dedicated to production for the IG Farben company. Since the camp is not in the central portion of the Auschwitz concentration camp, also containing its own infirmary, it is probable that Henri was working in the Monowitz camp. During his first stay, he entered the infirmary on 22-Nov-1943 and was discharged on 04-Dec-1943. He visited the infirmary again from 28-Dec-1943 until 10-Jan-1944. Henri continued to work in the camp until he was killed. Henri Blitz died on 28-Apr-1944 in Auschwitz at the age of 26.
Updated 06-Jul-2024
Sources
Amsterdam Stadsarchief: Militieregisters (Military Registration) Henri Blitz
Amsterdam Stadsarchief: Archive Card Henri Blitz
Amsterdam Stadsarchief: Archive Card Hans Joachim Ehrlich
ITS 130261313: Judenrat Card Henri Blitz
ITS 130282131: Judenrat Card Hans Joachim Ehrlich
ITS 507311: Auschwitz Infirmary Visit Henri Blitz 22-Nov-1942
ITS 507382: Auschwitz Infirmary Visit for Henri Blitz 28-Dec-1943
Yad Vashem: Transport from Westerbork to Auschwitz 24-Aug-1943
Fritz Bauer Institut Buna-Monowitz Exhibit
Jakob, Volker and van der Voort, Annet, “Anne Frank war nicht allein - Hans und Eva E. Widerstand”, ISBN 3-8012-3025-2, pp. 174-175