In Belgium and Holland during WWII, there were people who risked arrest and possible execution by sheltering Jews from the Nazi occupiers. Even in Poland, where most Poles eagerly helped the Nazis identify and round up the hated Jews for deportation to Auschwitz and other death camps, there were a few brave souls who hid out some Jewish families.
HOW A 16-YEAR-OLD JEWISH GIRL ESCAPED DEATH AFTER BEING SHELTERED BY THE SISTER OF BELGIUM’S MOST NOTORIOUS NAZI
Hana Nadel was taken in by Madeline Cornet, sister of Leon Degrelle, a leader of the Belgian Nazi Rexen movement which was responsible for deporting Jews to their deaths
Mail Online
November 6, 2012
A 16-year old Holocaust survivor and her family escaped death after finding refuge with the sister of Belgium's most notorious Nazi leader.
Hana Nadel, now 86, was taken in by Madeline Cornet - her brother Leon Degrelle once famously claimed that Hitler told him 'If I had a son, I wish he'd resemble you.'
Degrelle was a leader of the Belgian Nazi Rexen movement which were responsible for deporting Jews to their deaths in World War Two during the German occupation of Belgium.
Ms Nadel, who now lives in Israel, explained they had been thrown out of their Brussels home when her mother noticed a sign on Madeline Cornet's door asking for help.
After ringing the bell and meeting Mrs Cornet, all three women were hired - Ms Nadel's mother became a cook and the two younger girls were housemaids.
She said the couple quickly realised that she was Jewish as she had 'pretty dark skin.'
Ms Nadel said she dodged talking about the subject as long as possible, but when she was asked directly she told them of her origins.
'Yes, I was Jewish. I could no longer deny,' she said, reported De Standaard.
'You're safe here,' was the reply. 'I have broken with the fascism of my brother.'
It was then Ms Nadel discovered the connection her employer had to Degrelle, but she was told she would be safe at the house as they did not share his views.
But the reminders were still present - in the children's playroom a portrait of Degrelle was hung on the wall and the trio hid in the basement when anyone they felt threatened by turned up at the house.
According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Ms Nadel's mother even occasionally cooked gefilte fish for the family's guests which included Belgian fascists.
She advertised them to her guests as 'oriental fish,' so they would not know she had hired a Jewish cook.
Degrelle was most famous for founding Rex, a Belgian fascist political movement with a close relationship to German's Nazi party and Italian fascists.
He joined the Wehrmacht and later the Waffen SS.
After the war he fled to Spain and became active in Neo-Nazi publications.
He would frequently appear wearing a white uniform featuring his German decorations, and spoke of his 'thinking bond' with Hitler.
Asked if he had any regrets about the war, his reply was: "Only that we lost!
Degrelle died of old age in 1994, escaping the death sentences that his Nazi associates received back home.
No comments:
Post a Comment