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home > history > Help for the Jews: a ray of hope
Reactions to the persecution
Comité de Défense des Juifs – C.D.J.
The Partisans
The Righteous Among The Nations
Reactions to the persecution
Men and women from all sections of society, both Jews and Gentiles, reacted with abhorrence to the ferocity and cruelty which accompanied the persecutions. They attempted, and to a certain extent succeeded, in developing a defensive mechanism. The zionist left wing workers party began publishing the first clandestine periodical, in Yiddish, Unzer Vort (Our Word), and warned the Jodenraad: “The time of blind obedience to the Nazi’s dictaten is over.”
The vast majority of the Belgian population were alarmed when they were suddenly confronted by a mass of yellow stars on the streets of their cities. On 5th June 1942 a meeting of mayors of the boroughs of Brussels informed the Oberfeldkommandantur (local military commander) that the local authorities would forthwith cease to distribute yellow stars to the Jewish population. Underground newspapers called on the population for sympathy and solidarity. La Libre Belgique, which began secretly publishing again in 1940, wrote: “Fellow countrymen, for your own self respect and our collective hatred of Naziism, do what you haven’t done before: acknowledge the Jews when you pass them in the street”.
La Libre Belgique (1st of August 1942)
calls upon protest against the Jew's fate:
"This will make the Germans furious!!!".
(© Musée de la Résistance)The razzias of 1942 drove thousands of Jews underground; they went into hiding. Ami du Peuple (Friend of the People), the voice of the Anti-Joodse Liga, spurred their readers on to betray Jews.
Head of the newspaper L’ami du peuple:
"The Jew wanted to have war. He is responsible for our suffering.
The Jew will be exterminated". (© SOMA)However many people assisted in concealing Jews. In the beginning this tended to be done rather haphazardly with individuals offering refuge in their cellars and attics. Slowly but surely organised networks began to develop which enabled greater numbers of the persecuted to be rescued from the claws of the Nazis.
Ester and Wilma with their nurse, Maria Bertens.
The girls are hidden in a convent
next to the Dossinkazerne. (© JMDR)
Comité de Défense des Juifs – C.D.J. (Jewish Defence Committee)
In September 1942 the communists and the zionist movements established the C.D.J. Membership quickly grew to incorporate organisations with similar objectives. The C.D.J. soon found shelterwith the most important resistance movement in Belgium i.e.
the Onafhankelijkheidsfront - O.F. (Independence Front). The number one priority of the C.D.J. was the rescuing of children left behind by their parents who had already been picked up and were later to be deported. These children were in fact now threatened with the same fate as the other members of their families who had been taken by the Nazis.The C.D.J. also functioned as a national organisation in the field of social services. The section Kinderen (Children) became responsible for hiding and supporting those who had gone underground. The co-operation and assistance from the non-Jewish sector was remarkable. Thanks to ‘unarmed resistance fighters ‘ more than 3.000 Jews were rescued from deportation. The price paid for this campaign, however, was high. Many members of the C.D.J. together with their fellow collaborators were arrested by the authorities.
Andrée Geulen, active member of the C.D.J. at work.
Acting as a courier she took away the children from their
parents' house to bring them to their hinding place.
She came regularly to bring them tickets for
food or clothes. (© JMDR)The C.D.J. was also involved in other aspects of the Resistance e.g. the clandestine press.
An edition of Unser Kampf (Our Battle) , published in Charleroi in June 1943, quotes the testimony of two Jews from Antwerp, who had escaped from a work camp in Upper Silesia. “We Jews have nothing to lose. We prefer to fight and die with weapons in our hands rather than to remain inactive and run the risk of being picked up in a Razzia and transported to Auschwitz“.
The Partisans
The armed resistance, which had numerous Jewish members, played a significant role in the general opposition to the occupying authorities. The partisans robbed post offices and local administrative offices e.g. town halls, destroyed railway lines and similar infrastructure essential to the German war effort.
On 25th July 1942 the filing cards that the V.J.B. used for the so called work mobilisation programme, were destroyed by a fire started by Jewish partisans. Unfortunately a back up copy was later found to exist. On 29th August 194 (?) Jewish partisans were again in action this time claiming responsibility for the assassination of the head (Jewish) of the work programme.
Perhaps one of the most audacious exploits in the annals of the European deportations is the attack on a train bringing deportees to Auschwitz; the infamous ‘Convoy XX’. On 19th April 1943 a goods train left the Dossinkazerne with 1631 deportees, destination unknown (but bound for Auschwitz). The train was accompanied by about 40 guards from the Schutzpolizei.
Soon after leaving Mechelen, at about 11 o’clock at night, the train passed through the village of Boortmeerbek. When the train went slowly round a curve the driver noticed a red light on the lines and brought the train to a gentle stop. Three young men, Youra Livschitz, Jean Franklemon and Robert Maistriau had placed a hurricane lamp covered with red tissue paper in the path of the train. Notwithstanding shots from the guards the the partisans succeeded in opening one of the truck doors and freeing 17 prisoners. The train then moved on. Later in the night more people were able to escape from the, often, slow moving convoy. Altogether 236 Jews were get away from the ‘Convoy XX’. However next day 23 dead bodies were found strewn beside the lines some having been shot by the guards and others having died from injuries incurred whilst jumping from the moving train.
Youra Livschitz, Jean Franklemon and Robert Maistriau
(© MJB-JMB and JMDR)Another heroic humanitarian deed dates from 19th May 1943. On this occasion the Partisans succeeded in rescuing 15 Jewish girls. Their hiding place, the cloister Le Très Saint Sauveur, in Anderlecht (Brussels), was discovered by the traitor Gros Jacques who revealed the location of Jews in hiding to the Nazis for money. The resistance sprang into action, rescuing the girls in a somewhat spectacular fashion and bringing them to a safer hideout.
The Righteous Among The Nations
It is written in the Talmud that, “ He who saves one human being is as if he saves an entire world” After the war men and women who had risked their lives to save Jews were honoured with the title ‘Righteous Among The Nations. They are the living prove that despite grave danger, there are those who are willing to undertake, at great risk to themselves, their families and friends, actions to fulfill the precept. ‘Love thy neighbour as thyself’. They represent the preservation of human values in the midst of absolute moral collapse.
We would like to mention here : Mrs. Yvonne Névjean, Directrice of the Nationaal Werk voor Kinderwelzijn ( National Society for Child Welfare), Mrs. Andrée Geulen, Mrs. Madeleine Sorel, Father Joseph André, Dom Bruno, the sisters of Les Très Saint-Saveur, Mr. Henri Ovart, Head Master of the Gatti de Gamond boarding school and numerous others.
The wife of The Belgian King, Albert I (†1934), Queen Elisabeth (†1965), was also honoured with this title. Her badgering of the German High Command, resulted in the saving of hundreds of Jewish lives including many children and elderly people.
The tree planted for Father Joseph André in Jerusalem.
(© JMDR)
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