Philips

  • For 10 years I worked for Philips and was not aware of this bit of the company’s history, although I worked in a different plant in another city, the links to Eindhoven were substantial because HQ was located there. On 6th December 1942, the RAF mounted Operation Oyster, a daylight low-level bombing raid on the

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  • The Dangers of TV

    The title might suggest that I’ll be discussing the dangers of television content, but my focus is actually on the physical hazards associated with televisions in the past — specifically, the risks involved in the manufacturing of certain TV components, with particular attention to flat shadow masks. Shadow-masks: how the tiny grid behind colour CRTs

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  • This post is a bit of a detour from my usual World War II history blog, but I felt I needed a break from the harrowing stories of the war—especially those surrounding the Holocaust. I spent the longest part of my career working for Philips, between 1987 and 1997. I was part of the FSM

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  • Before sharing the story of Frits Philips, I’d like to first touch on his family’s background The patriarch of the Philips family is Philip Philips, a Jewish merchant from North Rhine-Westphalia who came to the Netherlands. Little is known about him. He was married to Rebecca van Crefelt. Lion Philips (Zaltbommel, October 29, 1794 –

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  • 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,

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  • From 1987 to 1997, I worked for Philips. It was a global leader in electronics and is still a leader in healthcare technology. In 1991, it celebrated its 100th anniversary. We were promised a profit share, but due to cuts, that never happened. Instead, we received a book about the history—100 years of Philips. 50

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  • Before I start the main story, I must tell you about the wider context. About 75% of all Jews in the Netherlands were murdered during the Holocaust. The Netherlands as a country, received understandably a lot of criticism for this and to a great extent, it was justified. However, it is not as a black-and-white

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  • Below is a press cutting from the 1928 Amsterdam Olympic Games. “Everything was taken care of down to the last detail. Nice practice material—not too heavy—logically composed, neatly executed in class, wonderful order and leadership, in one word sublime. …The jury was also enthusiastic and awarded the Kleerekoper corps a total score of 316.75 points,

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  • Eduard and Alexander Hornemann are two of the 20 Bullenhuser Damm children who were murdered on 20 April 1945. I have written about the Bullenhuser Damm children before, but I just want to focus on the two brothers now. The reason being, at another time it could have been my boys whose names would have

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  • Alexander Hornemann, 8, the Netherlands Eduard Hornemann, 12, the Netherlands Marek Steinbaum, 10, Poland Marek James, 6, Poland W. Junglieb, 12, Yugoslavia Roman Witonski, 7, Poland Roman Zeller, 12, Poland Sergio de Simone, 7, Italy Georges Andre Kohn, 12, France Eduard Reichenbaum, 10, Poland Jacqueline Morgenstern, 12, France Surcis Goldinger, 11, Poland Lelka Birnbaum, 12,

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