Simon Salomons was the fourth of the thirteen children of Meijer Salomons and Bloeme de Paauw. He was born in Amsterdam on 17 April 1892 and worked as a brilliant adjuster, office clerk and bookkeeper in a paper products company and during the war years as assistant chief of education at the Jewish Council.
Like his father and brothers, Simon Salomons was also trained in the diamond trade. He then lived with his parents and family at Ruitersweg 6 in Hilversum. His apprentice card from the ANDB indicates that he became a brilliant adjuster and that he spent his apprenticeship at the studio/factory De Bloem. His teacher was P. Huntelen. His apprenticeship ended on 25 April 1913 and on the same date he became a member of the ANDB.
On 2 July 1920 he left for Antwerp, where he lived at Lange Kievitstraat 18, but returned to his parental address Overtoom 447 in Amsterdam on 21 April 1921. Apparently, he then said goodbye to the diamond trade, because he became an office clerk and bookkeeper in a stationery company.
On 29 April 1931, Simon Salomons married Sara Jeannette van der Velde. She was a daughter of Benjamin van der Velde and Flora Italiaander and was born in Amsterdam on 9 December 1899. After the marriage was concluded, the couple moved into living space at Hunzestraat 9 in the Amsterdam River District, but on 29 April 1933 Simon and Sara moved to Bussum , from where they returned to Amsterdam after 6 months that year and found living space on 18 October 1933 at Dintelstraat 48, 1st floor, where their son Benjamin was born on 26 June 1936.
At the end of February 1940, the Salomons family left Amsterdam for Zandvoort and lived at Kostverlorenstraat 19. However, on 13 March 1941, they returned to Amsterdam and found living space in the Den Texstraat 49 ground floor, which was two months later in May 1941 exchanged into Vechtstraat 135 1st floor. Simon, Sara and Benjamin still lived there, at the time they were required to register with the Jewish Council. On 18 February 1943, however, they had to move again by order of the Germans, this time to Afrikanerplein 27, 2nd floor in the Transvaal district of Amsterdam-East.
Simon Salomons' registration card shows that the Jewish Council granted Simon a deferral of deportation ("Rückstellung") on 1 August 1942, which also exempted his wife and son from deportation and "Arbeitseinsatz" until further notice. Simon worked for the Jewish Council as assistant head of education and Sara Jeannette van der Velde worked as a nurse in the N.I.Z. the Dutch Israelitic Hospital at Nieuwe Keizersgracht 110 from 28 July 1942.
The deferment (“Rückstellung”) of deportation (the predecessor of the Sperre system with a stamp that was introduced in September 1942) lasted until June 1943. In May 1943, many exemptions had already been declared expired by the Germans, but the results of previous raids proved insufficient for the occupier who then decided to hold a round-up on 20 June 1943 which should be prepared in secret. That early morning of the 20th of June, the Transvaal district of Amsterdam-East and other southern areas too, were completely closed off and a total of more than 5500 Jews were rounded up, arrested and carried off to Westerbork that Sunday.
This fate also befell Simon Salomons and his wife Sara Jeannette van der Velde and their son Benjamin. When they arrived in Westerbork, they were housed in barrack 72. On 13 July 1943 they were part of a deportation transport of nearly 2000 deportees to Sobibor. Upon arrival there they were all immediately murdered in the gas chambers there on 16 June 1943.
Sources include the City Archive of Amsterdam, family registration cards of Meijer Salomons (1863) and Simon Salomons; Apprentice card ANDB of Simson (Simon) Salomons; the dossier of foreigners of the City of Antwerp no. 160907; archive cards of Simon Salomons and Sara Jeannette van der Velde; the file cabinet of the Jewish Council, registration cards of Simon Salomons, Sara Jeannette Salomons-van der Velde and Benjamin Salomons and the Wikipedia website jodentransporten vanuit Nederland.nl/ transport 13 Juli 1943.