Aäron Henri Spier was a son from the 2nd marriage of Lewis Prins and Esther Spier. When his father died 20 January 1928, Aron Henri was nearly four years old and then presumably accommodated in the Nederlands Israëlitisch Jongensweeshuis at Amstel 21 in Amsterdam. (Dutch Israelitic Boys Orphanage). When he celebrated his 18th birthday there, he had to leave the institution so he came home to live with his mother at Snoekjesgracht 5 2nd stock in Amsterdam. Because of his exceptionally good behavior, he was awarded with a medal and honoray diploma by the Orphanage on his 18th birthday.
Already since 19 September 1941 Aäron Henri worked at a department of the Jewish Council at Oude Schans 74 as assistant administrator Departing Aid and because of his function, he was exempted from deportation untill further notice (“gesperrt bis auf weiteres”). At the address Oude Schans 74 the Bureau for Departing, Clothing Supply and Issue of Camp Articles of the Jewish Council was housed there.
12 November 1942 Aäron Henri Prins was deported to Westerbork and was put on transport to Auschwitz 16 November. This transport, containing 761 deportees, stopped at Kozel, were 100 men between 15 and 50 years old were forced to leave the train to be used as forced laborers in one of the surrounding satellite camps of Auschwitz.
Aäron Henri ended up in Klein Mangersdorf (Manuszowiczki), located in the Opole region in Poland, a small camp for Jewish forced laborers, which was opened in March 1940 and shut down in June 1944. The population of this camp were only men, who were used by the German company of Julius Schallhorn from Berlin, to work at the State Highways (Reichs Autobahnen). It was therefore also known as Highway-camp (Autobahn Kamp).
A few days after his depart from Westerbork Aäron Henri arrived there. The conditions in that camp were unspeakably – the camp was over-crowded (398 Jewish prisoners for 228 slots). It is therefore most likely that due to the harsh conditons there, he lost his life at the end of December 1942; officially, his date of death was established as 31 December 1942.
Sources: City Archive of Amsterdam, family registration card of Lewis Prins, archive cards of Esther Spier and Aäron Henri Prins; Het Joodsche Weekblad (the Jewish Weekly) of 6 February 1942, page 7; website Klein Mangersdorf; from the book Jewish Forced Labor under the nazis; the file cabinet of the Jewish Council, registration card of Aäron Henri Prins.