Bearable

The persecution of the Jews confronted Frits Philips with one of the most difficult dilemmas in his career. Early in 1943, he agreed, at the insistence of the German occupiers, to open a Philips workshop in the new concentration camp near Vught. His decision was motivated by the hope that in this way he could make the lives of the prisoners bearable and offer them as much protection as possible. His goals were met. Of the 469 Jewish prisoners who worked in the Philips Kommando, 382 survived the war. Years later, in 1996, Frits Philips was awarded the Yad Vashem medal by Israel in recognition of his help.

In May 1943, following spontaneous strikes by Philips workers, Frits Philips lost his own freedom. He recalls the enormous pressure he was under at the time. ‘As I entered the prison, I looked around and said to myself: ‘It is 3 May. The trees are already green. What will the world look like when I get out?’ Yet at that moment it felt as if the colossal weight of my responsibility was suddenly being lifted from me. Not until much later did I realize that at the time my life had been hanging by a thread.’

That same day in Eindhoven, at the Philips complex in Strijp, seven men, including four Philips workers, were executed by the Germans. For the rest of his life, Frits Philips visited the yard where the executions had taken place every year to lay flowers. On 23 September 1943, after 5 months of captivity, he was released.

The allied invasion brought with it hope, but also renewed uncertainty. On 20 July 1944, when Frits Philips was told that a number of Germans wanted to speak to him, an increasing sense of danger led him to disappear out of his office window and go into hiding. He stayed at various locations until the end of the war. On 20 September, Frits Philips re-entered the newly liberated city of Eindhoven, via Veghel. The previous day the city had been severely hit by a dreadful German bombing raid, during which hundreds of lives had been lost. It was in the midst of this scene of chaos and desperation that he was reunited with his wife and children, all of whom were unscathed. On 25 September 1944, with the occupied Netherlands facing the prospect of a harsh winter, Frits Philips welcomed back to Eindhoven the Philips Board of Management, chaired by Frans Otten.