A Pinch Cat Flashlight
I worked for Philips from 1987 to 1997. It was a company that took great pride in its history. In 1891, mechanical engineer Gerard Philips (1858–1942) and his father—manufacturer, banker and tobacco and coffee trader—Frederik Philips founded the light bulb factory of the same name in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. In 1991, on its 100th anniversary, a book of its history was issued to all employees. However, because we were expecting a profit share bonus rather than a book, many employees threw the book in the bin, as a silent protest, as did I. Looking back, I am sorry I did so, because later on I discovered that Philips had a fascinating history, especially during World War II.
The well-known hand dynamo from Philips was designed by Ir. L.J. Kalff and patented in January 1942. There were more than a million copies of the standard Pinch Cat Flashlight model made.
The principle of the squeeze cat consists of electromagnetic induction. When a magnet rotates in a coil, an induction current occurs in the coil. This current could then be used to light a light. The voltage was 2.5 Volts at 100 mA/0.1A; with the help of a lens, the light from a 2.5 V light bulb could shine in a targeted manner.
During the occupation, 4 models were produced:
Type 7424, aluminum, silver-colored (see image);
Type 7424/03, aluminum, green;
Type 7426, aluminum, beige (due to a lack of aluminum, brass was later used and zinc was used later);
Type 7426 Bi-Jou (the so-called “ladies model”), aluminum. Mainly produced around 1940-1941. With a retail price of 8.75 guilders, it is considerably more expensive than the standard model.
From February 1943 until 2 June 1944, the standard squeeze cats were manufactured by, among others, the camp residents of Camp Vught, including Jewish employees of Philips (the so-called Philips Kommando).
On 18 October 1935, Frits Philips was appointed vice-director and a member of the board of Philips. Learning of the expected occupation of the Netherlands by Nazi Germany in World War II in 1940, his father Anton Philips, young nephew Frans Otten, and other Philips family members escaped from the Netherlands and fled to the United States, taking company capital with them. Frits Philips stayed in the Netherlands. Together they managed to keep the company alive during the war.
From 30 May until 20 September 1943, Philips was held in the concentration camp Vught because of a strike at the Philips factory.
During the Occupation, Philips saved the lives of 382 Jews by convincing the Nazis that they were indispensable for the production process at Philips. Mr. Philips reportedly tried to hire as many Jews as possible and then told the Nazi occupiers they were irreplaceable, a strategy that prevented many of them from being sent to Auschwitz.
Of the 469 Jews employed at the factory, 382 survived the war, according to company history.
Some historians are critical of Mr Frits Philips, they say he played a double role in the war because its factory production contributed to the German war industry also. However, the fact is that anyone who defied the Nazi regime put their life at risk.
Employees of the Philips Kommando had a hard time in Vught, but slightly better than the other prisoners. For example, every day at four o’clock these prisoners received a hot meal from Philips. This meal came to be known as Philiprak. In addition, they were assured of a dry workplace, without much interference from the guards.
Despite this, Vught was still a concentration camp. Like all other camps, life was harsh, maybe less harsh than in other camps, but harsh nonetheless.
On the night of 15th/ 16th January 1944, 74 female prisoners were detained in a cell after they protested against the interment of a fellow prisoner. This was done under the authority of camp commander Adam Grünewald. The room with a surface of 9 m² had a poor ventilation system, and because of that ten women died of suffocation during the 14 hours of imprisonment. The news of this crime quickly got outside the camp and was extensively reported by the Dutch illegal press. This caused a problem for the Nazi leadership in the Netherlands, who were trying to limit such violent incidents in the camp in order not to fuel the resistance in the Netherlands.
On 4 February 1944, Heinrich Himmler visited Camp Vught and the Philips Kommando following the “bunker drama.”
One of the reasons why a Philips factory was established in Vught was partially because on Sunday morning, 6 December 1942, the British Air Force bombed the Philips factories in Eindhoven. They presumed Philips produced parts for German military equipment. Despite the losses—14 of the 93 aircraft crashed—Operation Oyster was a military success. Large parts of the Philips factories are destroyed. It was a different story for the residents of Eindhoven. Bombs that ended up in the wrong place killed 138 people and damaged many buildings, including a hospital.
Many devices, such as razors, flashlights and paper clips, were made here. The production of “critical” radio tubes started because this enabled young Jewish women to come and work at the “safe” Philips Kommando.
The Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara, was the first Japanese diplomat posted to Lithuania, helped a great number of Jews to escape from Lithuania. For that, he received help from The Dutch consul Jan Zwartendijk. He was the director of the Philips plants in Lithuania. On 19 June 1940, he was also a part-time acting consul of the Netherlands. Zwartendijk provided some of the fleeing Jews with documents to travel to Curaçao, a Caribbean island and Dutch colony that required no entry visa, or Suriname, which was also a Dutch colony.
Eppo Gans was a Dutch employee of Philips and, with his brother Gerard, was involved in helping Jewish people in hiding. They were half-Jewish. Gans was arrested on 19 October 1941 and imprisoned in Den Bosch, the Oranjehotel, Camp Vught and from there either to Auschwitz with the so-called Philips Commando or to Sachsenhausen on 3 June or 5 September. He died on 26 February 1945 in Neuengamme.
During the Nazi occupation, Eppo and his older brother Gerard worked as a relief worker for Jewish people in hiding. On 29 October 1941, he was discovered and imprisoned by the SS in the House of Detention in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, where he registered as a Jehovah’s Witness. On 17 February 1942, he was taken to prison at The Hague. Later he was deported to Camp Vught.
Sources
https://www.oorlogsbronnen.nl/thema/Philips-Kommando
https://www.oorlogsbronnen.nl/tijdlijn/Eppo-Gans/02/46659
http://www.philips-kommando.nl/
https://www.joodsmonument.nl/en/page/229105/philips-kommando
History of Sorts 