Meijer Tas was a son of Levie Tas and Betje Slier. He was born on 27 January 1896 in Amsterdam and started his career as a commercial traveler. Later he was a wholesaler in draperies. Meijer was also active as a pastoral worker. Before he was married, he lived with his sibs and parents at home at Tugelaweg 25, 1st floor in Amsterdam East.
On 15 February 1928, Levie married in Amsterdam Sara Hirschel, a daughter of Saul Hirschel and Schoontje Mesrits. She was born there on 22 May 1900. The couple then moved into a house at Burmanstraat 11, 1st floor, a side street of Weesperzijde. Their first child, Jochebed Betty, was born there on 20 April 1929, followed by Sonja Lea on 12 December 1933 and their son Louis Tas was born on 5 February 1941.
Already a year later, Meijer Tas' family was taken from home to the Hollandsche Schouwburg in Amsterdam and transported to Westerbork on the night of 11 to 12 November 1942, where it was registered on the 12th. On 16 November 1942 Meijer Tas, his wife Sara Hirschel and their children Jochebed Betty, Sonja Lea and Louis were deported to Auschwitz.
The transport included a total of 761 deportees, of which 100 boys and men between the ages of 15 and 50 were forced to leave the train during a stopover in Cosel, located ±80 km west of Auschwitz. They were employed as forced laborers in the surrounding labor camps in Upper Silesia.
Those who remained on the train were transported onwards to Auschwitz to be murdered upon arrival there in the gas chambers of Auschwitz-Birkenau. That was also the fate of Sara Tas-Hirschel and her children Jochebed Betty, Sara Lea and 21-month-old Louis Tas. They were gassed immediately after arrival on 19 November 1942.
However, Meijer Tas was among the group of 100 boys and men who were taken from the train in Cosel. Partly with reference to the Red Cross's investigation into the Cosel transports, including the transport of 16 November 1942, it appears that of the 100 men who arrived at the St. Annaberg labor camp from Cosel, a group from St. Annaberg was transferred to the Gross Rosen resort.
The Gross Rosen concentration camp eventually had more than 60 subcamps (Aussenlager), of which the External Command Ludwigsdorf was one. That is where Meijer Tas eventually ended up and lost his life on 24 March 1943.
Sources include the Amsterdam City Archives, Levie Tas family card, archive cards of Meijer Tas, Sara Hirschel and the children Jochebed Betty, Lea Sonja and Louis Tas; the archives of the Jewish Council, registration cards of Meijer Tas, Sara Tas-Hirshel and Jochebed Betty, Sonja Lea and Louis Tas; the archive of the Red Cross, transport list no. 2 of 11/12 November 1942 Amsterdam Schouwburg to Westerbork/ nos. 73-74-75 and 76 (the Meijer Tas family); House map Amsterdam/Burmanstraat 11, 1st floor and the website Jodentransporten uit Nederland.nl/transport 16 November 1942.