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Andrée Geulen

December 15, 2023

Andrée Geulen-Herscovici (6 September 1921 – 31 May 2022) was a Belgian teacher and member of the resistance during the German occupation of Belgium during World War II. After becoming aware of the persecution of Belgian Jews through her employment, she became involved in the Committee for the Defence of Jews (Comité de Défense des Juifs, or CDJ; Joods Verdedigingscomité, JVC) in 1943 and actively assisted with the organisation and protection of "hidden children" amid the Holocaust in Belgium. In the aftermath of the war, she was recognised as Righteous among the Nations by the Israeli institute Yad Vashem and received several other honours in Belgium and Israel.

Andrée Geulen
Geulen, pictured in 2010
Born(1921-09-06)6 September 1921
Schaerbeek, Belgium
Died31 May 2022(2022-05-31) (aged 100)
Ixelles, Brussels, Belgium
OccupationTeacher
Known forInvolvement with the Committee for the Defence of Jews during the Holocaust in Belgium

Biography edit

Career and resistance activities edit

Andrée Geulen was born in Schaerbeek, a suburb of Brussels, on 6 September 1921 into a liberal family of the urban bourgeoisie.[1] After the German invasion of Belgium in May 1940, the country was placed under military occupation and Geulen became a schoolteacher and received a job in a primary school in central Brussels in 1942.[1] She became aware of the escalating persecution of Jews through witnessing the introduction of the compulsory yellow badge used to identify Jews in public among the pupils in her class.[1]

Through an introduction by Ida Sterno [fr], another teacher in the same school, Geulen became involved with the small Committee for the Defence of Jews (Comité de Défense des Juifs, or CDJ; Joods Verdedigingscomité, JVC) in the spring of 1943 and became one of its few non-Jewish members.[1] Her role was to contact Jewish families in Brussels and to persuade them to give up their children to the care of CDJ/JVC who would place them as "hidden children" in the care of Catholic families, schools, and religious institutions under false identities.[1] Geulen was among a number of women members in its "Children" section.[2]

Geulen taught and lived at the Athénée royal Isabelle Gatti de Gamond, a boarding school in the Brussels suburb of Woluwe-Saint-Pierre, whose headmistress, Odile Ovart-Henri [fr], had already agreed to host 12 hidden children at the school.[3] The school on the Rue André Fauchille was raided by the German authorities on Pentecost in May 1943 and some of the children were detained. Geulen herself was interrogated, but escaped to warn some of the Jewish pupils who had not been at the school at the time. Ovart and her husband Remy were both deported to a concentration camp, and did not survive the war.[3] In the aftermath of the raid, Geulen went into hiding with Sterno and assumed a false identity, as Claude Fournier.[3] Sterno was arrested in May 1944.[3] Geulen was personally involved in the arrangements made for 300 Jewish children whom she collected and accompanied to Catholic schools and monasteries. She remained active with the CDJ/JVC until the Liberation of Brussels in September 1944.[1][3]

Postwar life and recognition edit

After the war, Geulen became involved with the Jewish community in Belgium and maintained contact with the children with whom she had come into contact. She was involved in trying to reunite the hidden children with surviving family members and became actively involved in the relief organisation Aid for Israelite Victims of the War (Aide aux Israélites Victimes de la Guerre, AIVG) which supported Jewish survivors of Nazi concentration camps in Belgium.[3][1] She became involved in activism for pacifist and anti-racist causes.[1] She married Charles Herscovici, a Jewish concentration camp survivor of Roma origin, in 1948.[1]

Geulen was recognized with the honorific Righteous Among the Nations in 1989. She was granted honorary Israeli citizenship in a ceremony at Yad Vashem in 2007, as part of the "Children Hidden in Belgium during the Shoah" International Conference.[4] Upon accepting the honor, Geulen-Herscovici said, "What I did was merely my duty. Disobeying the laws of the time was just the normal thing to do."[5] She received honorary citizenship of the municipality of Ixelles.[6]

Geulen's 100th birthday on 6 September 2021 was covered in the press in Belgium.[7] The same year, a creche in Brussels was renamed in her honour.[8] She died on 31 May 2022 in Ixelles.[9]

See also edit

  • Jeanne Daman, a Belgian teacher with a similar background active in protecting Jews during the Holocaust

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Corthals, Michèle. "Geulen-Herscovici Andrée". Belgium-WWII (in Dutch). CEGESOMA. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  2. ^ Decoster, Gérald (16 December 2021). "Andrée Geulen, dite "Mademoiselle Andrée" et le sauvetage des enfants juifs" (in French). RTBF. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Andree Geulen-Herscovici". The Righteous Among the Nations. Yad Vashem. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  4. ^ "Belgian Who Rescued 300 Children to Receive Honorary Citizenship at Yad Vashem Ceremony Tomorrow", Yad Vashem, 17 April 2007.
  5. ^ Aron Heller Woman honored for saving kids from Nazis 5 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Associated Press, 18 April 2007.
  6. ^ "Andrée Geulen: Elle a changé leur vie" (in French). Commune of Ixelles. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  7. ^ "Andrée Geulen, l'institutrice bruxelloise qui a sauvé des milliers d'enfants juifs pendant la guerre, fête ses 100 ans" (in French). BX1. 6 September 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  8. ^ "Une crèche rebaptisée en hommage à la résistante Andrée Geulen" (in French). BX1. 10 December 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  9. ^ "Andrée Geulen, l'institutrice bruxelloise qui a sauvé des milliers d'enfants juifs pendant la guerre, est décédée" (in French). BX1. 1 June 2022. Retrieved 1 June 2022.

Further reading edit

  • Vromen, Suzanne (2008). Hidden Children of the Holocaust: Belgian Nuns and their Daring Rescue of Young Jews from the Nazis. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-518128-9.
  • Steinberg, Lucien (1973). Le Comité de défense des juifs en Belgique, 1942-1944. Brussels: Éditions de l'Université de Bruxelles.
  • Dambreville, Frédéric (2022). Les disparus de Gatti de Gamond. Brussels: CFC-Editions. ISBN 978-2-87572-075-7.

External links edit

December 15, 2023
andrée, geulen, herscovici, september, 1921, 2022, belgian, teacher, member, resistance, during, german, occupation, belgium, during, world, after, becoming, aware, persecution, belgian, jews, through, employment, became, involved, committee, defence, jews, co. Andree Geulen Herscovici 6 September 1921 31 May 2022 was a Belgian teacher and member of the resistance during the German occupation of Belgium during World War II After becoming aware of the persecution of Belgian Jews through her employment she became involved in the Committee for the Defence of Jews Comite de Defense des Juifs or CDJ Joods Verdedigingscomite JVC in 1943 and actively assisted with the organisation and protection of hidden children amid the Holocaust in Belgium In the aftermath of the war she was recognised as Righteous among the Nations by the Israeli institute Yad Vashem and received several other honours in Belgium and Israel Andree GeulenGeulen pictured in 2010Born 1921 09 06 6 September 1921Schaerbeek BelgiumDied31 May 2022 2022 05 31 aged 100 Ixelles Brussels BelgiumOccupationTeacherKnown forInvolvement with the Committee for the Defence of Jews during the Holocaust in Belgium Contents 1 Biography 1 1 Career and resistance activities 1 2 Postwar life and recognition 2 See also 3 References 4 Further reading 5 External linksBiography editCareer and resistance activities edit Andree Geulen was born in Schaerbeek a suburb of Brussels on 6 September 1921 into a liberal family of the urban bourgeoisie 1 After the German invasion of Belgium in May 1940 the country was placed under military occupation and Geulen became a schoolteacher and received a job in a primary school in central Brussels in 1942 1 She became aware of the escalating persecution of Jews through witnessing the introduction of the compulsory yellow badge used to identify Jews in public among the pupils in her class 1 Through an introduction by Ida Sterno fr another teacher in the same school Geulen became involved with the small Committee for the Defence of Jews Comite de Defense des Juifs or CDJ Joods Verdedigingscomite JVC in the spring of 1943 and became one of its few non Jewish members 1 Her role was to contact Jewish families in Brussels and to persuade them to give up their children to the care of CDJ JVC who would place them as hidden children in the care of Catholic families schools and religious institutions under false identities 1 Geulen was among a number of women members in its Children section 2 Geulen taught and lived at the Athenee royal Isabelle Gatti de Gamond a boarding school in the Brussels suburb of Woluwe Saint Pierre whose headmistress Odile Ovart Henri fr had already agreed to host 12 hidden children at the school 3 The school on the Rue Andre Fauchille was raided by the German authorities on Pentecost in May 1943 and some of the children were detained Geulen herself was interrogated but escaped to warn some of the Jewish pupils who had not been at the school at the time Ovart and her husband Remy were both deported to a concentration camp and did not survive the war 3 In the aftermath of the raid Geulen went into hiding with Sterno and assumed a false identity as Claude Fournier 3 Sterno was arrested in May 1944 3 Geulen was personally involved in the arrangements made for 300 Jewish children whom she collected and accompanied to Catholic schools and monasteries She remained active with the CDJ JVC until the Liberation of Brussels in September 1944 1 3 Postwar life and recognition edit After the war Geulen became involved with the Jewish community in Belgium and maintained contact with the children with whom she had come into contact She was involved in trying to reunite the hidden children with surviving family members and became actively involved in the relief organisation Aid for Israelite Victims of the War Aide aux Israelites Victimes de la Guerre AIVG which supported Jewish survivors of Nazi concentration camps in Belgium 3 1 She became involved in activism for pacifist and anti racist causes 1 She married Charles Herscovici a Jewish concentration camp survivor of Roma origin in 1948 1 Geulen was recognized with the honorific Righteous Among the Nations in 1989 She was granted honorary Israeli citizenship in a ceremony at Yad Vashem in 2007 as part of the Children Hidden in Belgium during the Shoah International Conference 4 Upon accepting the honor Geulen Herscovici said What I did was merely my duty Disobeying the laws of the time was just the normal thing to do 5 She received honorary citizenship of the municipality of Ixelles 6 Geulen s 100th birthday on 6 September 2021 was covered in the press in Belgium 7 The same year a creche in Brussels was renamed in her honour 8 She died on 31 May 2022 in Ixelles 9 See also editJeanne Daman a Belgian teacher with a similar background active in protecting Jews during the HolocaustReferences edit a b c d e f g h i Corthals Michele Geulen Herscovici Andree Belgium WWII in Dutch CEGESOMA Retrieved 3 June 2022 Decoster Gerald 16 December 2021 Andree Geulen dite Mademoiselle Andree et le sauvetage des enfants juifs in French RTBF Retrieved 3 June 2022 a b c d e f Andree Geulen Herscovici The Righteous Among the Nations Yad Vashem Retrieved 3 June 2022 Belgian Who Rescued 300 Children to Receive Honorary Citizenship at Yad Vashem Ceremony Tomorrow Yad Vashem 17 April 2007 Aron Heller Woman honored for saving kids from Nazis Archived 5 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine Associated Press 18 April 2007 Andree Geulen Elle a change leur vie in French Commune of Ixelles Retrieved 3 June 2022 Andree Geulen l institutrice bruxelloise qui a sauve des milliers d enfants juifs pendant la guerre fete ses 100 ans in French BX1 6 September 2021 Retrieved 12 September 2021 Une creche rebaptisee en hommage a la resistante Andree Geulen in French BX1 10 December 2021 Retrieved 3 June 2022 Andree Geulen l institutrice bruxelloise qui a sauve des milliers d enfants juifs pendant la guerre est decedee in French BX1 1 June 2022 Retrieved 1 June 2022 Further reading editVromen Suzanne 2008 Hidden Children of the Holocaust Belgian Nuns and their Daring Rescue of Young Jews from the Nazis Oxford Oxford University Press ISBN 978 0 19 518128 9 Steinberg Lucien 1973 Le Comite de defense des juifs en Belgique 1942 1944 Brussels Editions de l Universite de Bruxelles Dambreville Frederic 2022 Les disparus de Gatti de Gamond Brussels CFC Editions ISBN 978 2 87572 075 7 External links editOral history interview with Andree Geulen Herscovici at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Mademoiselle Andree 2021 documentary at Vlaamse Radio en Televisieomroep Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Andree Geulen amp oldid 1184295983, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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