Jacques Raffeld. Collection

Chil Icek alias Jacques Raffeld was born on 11 June 1920 in Warsaw, Poland, as the son of Chaim Raffeld and Frieda Aroniale. In 1925, Jacques, his parents Chaim and Frieda, and Jacques’ younger sister Myriam alias Mayim Rajza (born on 6 October 1922 in Warsaw) emigrated to Belgium, where Jacques’ youngest sister Sarah was born in Etterbeek on 13 November 1928. Jacques’ father Chaim was very religious. He became rabbi of the Beth Israel oratory in Molenbeek and Minister-Officer of the Jewish Community of Gent and Ostend. Chaim also functioned as a mohel (circumciser), working throughout Belgium. Jacques Raffeld studied art at the Académie des Beaux-Arts [Academy of Fine Arts] in Brussels. He proved to be a talented sculptor and engraver. At the age of 19 he won a prize for his sculpting. In 1938 Jacques opened his own sculpting and engraving business, specializing in tombstones and memorial plaques, located at Avenue Jean Van Horenbeeck 40 in Auderghem, Brussels. The workshop was located just across the street from the Auderghem cemetery. When Nazi Germany invaded Belgium on 10 May 1940, Jacques, his parents and sisters lived at Avenue du Roi 160 in Forest, Brussels, after which they moved to Rue André Hennebicq 51 in Saint-Gilles, Brussels. In May 1941 Jacques left his parents’ house to live at Rue Franz Merjay 154 in Ixelles, Brussels. Jacques was also forced to obey the anti-Jewish decrees: he registered in the municipal Jewish register at the end of 1940, had his ID stamped with the words “Jood-Juif” in Summer 1941 and became a member of the Association of Jews in Belgium in Spring 1942. In Autumn 1942 Jacques went into hiding, living in a small hut hidden on the premises of his business, allowing him to continue to work. When the Nazis came to look for him the first time, he was able to flee via surrounding gardens after which a neighbor took him in and hid him. However, on 11 June 1943 Jacques was denounced by a “friend” to whom Jacques had lend a large sum of money. When Jacques went out to meet his “friend” Robert to collect his money, the Nazis were waiting for him. Jacques was interrogated at the Avenue Louise headquarters of the Sicherheitspolizei-Sicherheitsdienst for two days before being interned in the Saint-Gilles prison in Brussels, from where he was transferred to the SS-Sammellager Mecheln (Dossin barracks) on 23 July 1943. Jacques was deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau via Transport XXI on 31 July 1943. Upon arrival at Auschwitz-Birkenau, Jacques was selected as a forced labourer. The number 133427 was tattooed on his arm. Jacques was sent to Jaworzno where he was put to work, unloading bags of cement for the factories at the camp site. When his carving skills were noticed, he was transferred to the Bauleitung Kommando, where he was forced to sculpt eagles and other Nazi emblems. After seven months in this specific task force, Jacques was transferred to a labour crew that renovated buildings. On 17 January 1945, the inmates of Jaworzno were forced to leave the camp on a death march. Four days later, the survivors arrived in Blechhammer. Jacques Raffeld hid in one of the barracks to avoid being forced to leave on another death march. Blechhammer was liberated by Soviet troops on 27 January 1945. Jacques was repatriated to Belgium via Berlin and Paris. On 25 July 1945 he was reunited with his parents – who survived the war in hiding in Alsemberg – and both his sisters. Jacques reopened his tombstone engraving business at Avenue Jean Van Horenbeeck and was commissioned to engrave a commemorative plaque, dedicated to all members of the Machsike Hadas community that fell victim to Nazi persecution, placed in the synagogue at Rue du Chapeau in Brussels. He continued working until the late 1990s and also became a motorcycle enthusiast who participated in amateur races. Jacques married and had children. A stumbling stone was placed in front of his workshop at Avenue Jean Van Horenbeeck 40 in Auderghem in 2015.

On 29 February 2000, Jacques Raffeld kindly donated the items in this collection to the Jewish Museum of Deportation and Resistance, predecessor of Kazerne Dossin. Mr. Raffeld collected the objects during post-war visits to the Auschwitz-Birkenau and Treblinka camp sites.

Jacques Raffeld, 2000