Esther Salomons was a daughter of Meijer Salomons and Bloeme de Paauw. She was the 6th of the 13 children in the family and was born on 14 September 1894 in Amsterdam. Esther married in Hilversum on 25 Febuary 1920 Meijer Pappie, a son of Nathan Pappie and Hendrika Wijnperle. Meijer was born in Amsterdam on 2 November 1894 and was a commercial traveller by trade and a dealer in houshold goods.
After Esther and Meijer were married, they found living space at Nathan Ancona’s at Plantage Muidergracht 33. On 16 November 1920 they moved to Torenstraat 6 in Breda but returned in Amsterdam on 16 September 1921. However, on 27 October 1922 the family, meantime consisting of 4 persons, moved to Hilversum.
In Amsterdam Esther and Meijer had two sons: on 21 January 1921 Nico and on 19 September 1922 Max. On 1 August 1932 the family returned from Hilversum in Amsterdam and found living space at Blasiusstraat 32 in Amsterdam-East but they moved already on 20 August 1934 to Tweede Boerhaavestraat 60 1st floor.
After the compulsory registration of all Jews in the Netherlands in 1941, Meijer Pappie got a job from 7 August 1942 in the administration of the Provincial Cartothek of the Jewish Council at Lijnbaansgracht 366, for which he received identification number JR-A-177 admin. He was therefore, together with the other family members, “exempted from deportation “because of function until further notice. (bis auf weiteres).
His wife Esther Salomons was previously working as an office clerk and had knowledge of the languages French, German and English. She had her school diploma’s but had no specific job with the Jewish Counil. Yet she was also exempted from deportation - provisionally – “because of her husband”.
The eldest son, Nico Pappie, who had worked as a warehouse clerk, was called up for the so-called “Arbeitseinsatz” on 20 July 1942, but he was granted a postponement of deportation for a few days. On 23 July 1942, he still had to report to Westerbork for the "work expansion" in Germany, for which he was issued a BNH train ticket (Biljet Naar Hooghalen) with number 6615 BNH 5204.
It is not clear what happened to Nico between July 1942 and 31 March 1943. It is not unlikely that he has tried to get into hiding at some point, or was on his way to escape via Belgium. Apparently that failed and he was arrested in the south of the country, which is why he was transferred to Vught. That also functioned as a prison, because Nico Pappie does not appear in the "normal" Vught registration. This could be possible, but it is unproven.....
However, in accordance with notes on his Jewish Council card, it is provable that Nico Pappie was transferred from Vught to Westerbork with a "penal transport" on 31 March 1943 and ended up there in barrack 57 at the beginning of April. (and not in the penal barrack 67). On 20 April 1943 he was deported as a "Häftling" (prisoner) to Sobibor. Upon arrival there, several dozen people were selected for work in Sobibor and in labor camps in the Lublin district. This is how Nico Pappie ended up in the nearby Dorohucza peat cutting camp, where he died on 30 November 1943.
The youngest son Max, who had previously worked as a warehouse clerk and salesman of piece goods, was also “exempted from deportation” by the Jewish Council. In addition to the fact that he was already provisionally exempted from deportation due to his father's “because of function”, he also was appointed as an employee of the General Service of the Jewish Council at Nieuwe Keizersgracht 58 with identification number JR-B-1851 General Service. However, on 16 April 1943, Max was transferred as an employee for the department file cabinet at Lijnbaansgracht 366.
In May, many exemptions from deportation had already been declared expired by the Germans, but it was not enough for them: on Sunday, 20 June 1943, the Germans held a large, secretly prepared roundup, during which more than 5500 Jewish residents of Amsterdam were arrested and transported by train to Westerbork.
Meijer Pappie, his wife Esther Salomons and son Max Pappie were also victims of this raid and ended up in barrack 67 in Westerbork. That barrack served or had served as a penal barrack. On 29 June they were put on “Normal Transport” to Sobibor and immediately murdered in the gas chambers upon arrival there on 2 July 1943.
Sources include the City Archive of Amsterdam, family registration cards of Meijer Salomons (1863) and Meijer Pappie; archive cards of Esther Salomons, Meijer Pappie and Nico and Max Pappie; the filce cabinet of the Jewish Council, registration cards of Meijer Pappie, Esther Pappie-Salomons, Nico Pappie and Max Pappie; the book Extermination Camp Sobibor, 2nd edition, by Jules Schelvis/transportlists of 20 April 1943 and 29 Juni 1943 and the Wikipedia website Jodentransporten vanuit Nederland.nl.