Henri Duitz was a son of Salomon Duitz and Elisabeth Duizend and born on 8 May 1906 at Kazernestraat 26 in Amsterdam, after his parents, his brother and two sisters had moved in August 1905 from The Hague to Amsterdam. In later years he worked as a commercial agent and was unmarried.
When Henri Duitz was called up for the National Militia examination on 30 April 1925, his choice was to be assigned to the fortress- or coastal artillery, for which Henri was considered most suitable. He then lived with his parents and brothers and sisters at Linneausparkweg 25 in Watergraafsmeer and was employed as an office clerk in a wholesaler of textile goods and had obtained his 3-year HBS diploma since 1921. But on 1 July 1925, he was provisionally released from the National Militia due to brotherly service.
Apparently Henri was called up for service again during the mobilization in 1939, because Henri's registration card from the Jewish Council mentions "MIL" and as a "Military" he was provisionally exempted from deportation by the Jewish Council on 22 July 1942. That did not last long because on 17 August 1942, Henri Duitz still was deported to Auschwitz.
The notation “MIL” goes back to the first resets in July 1942 (see date stamp 22 July 1942). The Jewish Council then proposed a number of categories of Jews for deferment, including former soldiers, including KNIL soldiers. For example, soldiers who fought for the fatherland in the May days of 1940. Initially this led to an actual deferral, but soon this no longer happened. (source: information from Raymund Schütz/Presumably on Transport chapter 3 page 34 ff.).
With a relatively small transport of 506 deportees, probably all younger people who had responded to the call for the so-called “Arbeitseinsatz”, the then 36-year-old Henri Duitz arrived in Auschwitz on 19/20 August 1942. It is known that Henri was employed in Auschwitz after arrival, but it is not known where and what his "work" was there.
The conditions in the camp were terribly and harsh: many died there from abuse, hardship, diseases or gassing. Henri Duitz also lost his life in Auschwitz, but it is not known exactly how and when.
After the war - partly based on investigations by the Red Cross - the Dutch Authorities determined that Henri Duitz could no longer be alive after 30 September 1942, after which the municipality of Amsterdam was instructed by the Ministry of Justice to draw up a death certificate for Henri Duitz, which stated that he died in Auschwitz on 30 September 1942.
Sources include the Amsterdam City Archives, family registration cards of Elisabeth Duitz-Duizend; birth certificate no. 5543 - year 1906 register 9 folio 62 for Henri Duitz, born at Kazernestraat 26 Amsterdam; archive card SAA Henri Duitz; the file cabinet of the Jewish Council, registration card of Henri Duitz; death certificate for Henri Duitz no. 254 from the A-register 47-folio 44v, drawn up in Amsterdam on 25 Aug 1950 and the Wikipedia website Jodentransporten uit Nederland.nl/transport 17 August 1942.