Szlama Lajb Markowicz was born in Prascka in Poland on 28 December 1896 as a son of Simsia Markowicz and Rijwka Kopistlowska. In the early 1920s, Szlama Lajb arrived in the Netherlands from Poland. He lived there in Dolina at Warsawerstrasse 55 and in the Netherlands he was from the beginning of August to the end of November 1921 in an internment camp in Harderwijk at first. He was then registered as a stateless citizen as Salomon Markowitz, born on 12 August 1898 in Dolina in Poland. Entries dated 20 February 1922 in the Register of of Foreigners of Amsterdam indicate that according to his birth certificate he would actually be Szlama Lajb Markowicz, born on 28 December 1896 in Prascka (Poland).
After his stay in the internment camp in Harderwijk, his first known address in Amsterdam became Amstel 131, from where he moved to the Nieuwendijk on 5 February 1925, then moved several more times until he married Esther Michel on 26 June 1929 in Amsterdam, who was born on 5 August 1896 in Amsterdam as a daughter of Friedrich Michel and Lena Reiwit. She was employed as an office clerk at the department-store "De Bijenkorf".
Szlama, alias Salomon then lived at Sarphatipark 18 1st floor, but in August 1929 he moved into a house at 2e Jan Steenstraat 23 1st floor with his wife Esther. In 1934 a move followed to the Deurlostraat and in 1936 to the Jekerstraat 4 1st floor in the Amsterdam River district. That last address also turned out to be ast known address of the family in the Netherlands.
Szlama Lajb was a tailor by trade, mainly of women's clothing and after he got married, registered as a chief tailor. Together with his wife Esther he had two children, viz. Alfred and Edith. Alfred was born on 23 August 1929 and Edith came 10 years later, on 11 January 1939.
On 24 July 24 1942, the Markowicz family was already called up for the so-called “Arbeitseinsatz”, but deportation was postponed (for unknown reasons). In the end, the Markowicz family as a whole was taken to Vught concentration camp on the night of 16 to 17 February 1943, where Szlama Lajb Markowicz was put to work as chief tailor after arrival in one of the textile companies there.
Szlama, however, had to experience in Vught that in the night of 6 to 7 June 1943, his two children and his wife were deported from Vught via Westerbork to Sobibor with the so-called "Childrens transport". The night that Esther and her children had to spent in Westerbork, stayed Esther and Edith in barrack 58 and Alfred in barrack 62.
On 7 July the deportation train departed again with more than 3010 children and their companions on board and after arriving on 11 June 1943 in Sobibor, Esther Markowicz-Michel, who as a mother and chaperone had accompanied her children Alfred (13 years old) and Edith (4 years old), and all the others, were immediately murdered in the gas chambers. There were no survivors.
Szlama Lajb himself was only deported on 15 November 1943 with a direct transport from Vught to Auschwitz. That transport included a total of 1149 deportees, many of whom were still so-called working age, who all went into "quarantine" for 6 weeks after arrival in Auschwitz. On arrival, all were registered and no selections took place at that time; which did not take place again until January 1944.
However, witness statements do show that already in the first weeks of the stay in Auschwitz - during that "quarantine" - a fairly large number of women had already died of typhus, dysentery and other diseases. Further testimonials also show that only 5 women known by name survived the January 1944 selections. They were put to work in Auschwitz-Birkenau.
After arrival of the transport on ± 18 November 1943 in Auschwitz and the subsequent "quarantine" and selections, the remaining men were distributed in January 1944 to the coal mines of Janina, Jawischowitz and Fürstengrube and various labor commands in Auschwitz-Birkenau.
The 47-year-old Szlama Lajb Markowicz however did not belong to the group of men who were not yet 46 years old on the day of arrival (i.e. on 18 November 1943). Red Cross investigations and witness statements have led to men who were over 45 years of age on arrival being deemed to have died at Auschwitz-Birkenau no earlier than 1 January 1944 and no later than 31 January 1944.
As such, the Dutch Ministry van Justice after the war commissioned the Municipality of Amsterdam to draw up a death certificate for Szlama Lajb Markowicz, which states that he died on 31 January 1944 in the vicinity of Auschwitz.
Sources include the City Archive of Amsterdam, family registration cards of Friedrich Michel and Szlama Lajb (Salomon) Markowicz (Markovitz); archive cards of Esther Michel, Szlama Lajb Markowicz and Alfred and Edith Markowicz; Amsterdam residence card of Amstel 131/Salomon Markovitz; the Amsterdam Register of Foreigners/ Salomon Markovitz a.k.n.o Szlama Lajb Markowicz; the file cabinet of the Jewish Council, registration cards of Szlama Lajb Markowicz, Esther Markowicz-Michel and Alfred and Edith Markowicz; website ITS Arolson/camp card Vught of Szlama Lajb Markowicz, spouse and children; the archive of the Dutch Red Cross/publication “Auschwitz IV”, edited October 1953/deportation transports in 1943/15 November 1943; Wikipedia website Jodentransporten vanuit Nederland.nl and the certificate of deathf nr. 435 from the A-register 84-folio 74verso, made out24 August 1951 in Amsterdam.