Hans Rosenblatt. Collection

Hans Rosenblatt alias Henri Roanne was born in Vienna, Austria, on 16 April 1932 as the son of Adolf Rosenblatt (born on 17 October 1910 in Trybuchowce) and Lea Ginsberg (born on 2 February 1913 in Jezierzany). The Rosenblatt-Ginsberg family was traditional, but not very religious. Adolf worked in his father's grocery store in the city. After the Anschluss on 13 March 1938 their living circumstances deteriorated quickly. In April 1938 Adolf was arrested at his store when the Gestapo came looking for his brother Samuel Rosenblatt. Adolf was first sent to the Dachau concentration camp, later to Buchenwald, while Samuel was able to flee to Belgium. Lea together with son Hans hid during Kristallnacht after which she sought for ways to get Hans out of Nazi-Germany. Since Adolf was in a concentration camp, Hans became a priority case and his name was put on the list of a Kindertransport to Belgium. On 7 March 1939 Hans Rosenblatt arrived by train via Herbesthal in Brussels. His uncle Samuel Rosenblatt had arranged for him to be taken in by the Belgian-Jewish couple David Dorn (born on 2 May 1910 in Anderlecht, Belgium) and Fanny alias Hanna Birnbaum (born on 12 October 1913 in Brussels, Belgium). After Samuel Rosenblatt left for the United States in November 1939 the Dorn-Birnbaum family continued to take care of Hans as if he were their own son. In April or May 1939, Hans’s father Adolf Rosenblatt was released from Buchenwald after which he had to leave Germany immediately. Hans met his father for a few hours in Brussels when Adolf passed through Belgium on his way to the United Kingdom where he would join the army. Meanwhile, mother Lea Ginsberg had been able to leave Vienna and reach Italy. When she learned her husband Adolf Rosenblatt would be going to the United Kingdom she clandestinely travelled to France to meet him. However, she was arrested and was not able to leave France before the German invasion on 10 May 1940. Lea Ginsberg would survive the war living in Cahors, France. With his parents both in other countries, Hans Rosenblatt remained with the Dorn-Birnbaum family in Brussels. They lived at Square Robert Pecqueur 10 in Anderlecht and Hans went to school nearby. On 10 May 1940 Nazi-Germany invaded Belgium. David, Fanny and Henri were then forced to obey the anti-Jewish decrees installed by the Germans. They registered in the municipal Jewish register, became members of the Association of Jews in Belgium, David lost his leather workshop and they wore the yellow star. In the night of 3 on 4 September 1942 the family avoided arrest during the first and only large anti-Jewish raid organized in Brussels. The Dorn-Birnbaum family then placed Henri in hiding with one of their former neighbours: Marthe Van Doren. Hans was tucked away in the backroom of Marthe’s laundry depot at Rue Saxe-Cobourg in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode. He spent all his time reading and listening to the radio, while receiving occasional visits of David Dorn. Marthe was able provide Hans with food by buying a false ration card under the name of Roanne. Hans survived the war with Marthe Van Doren, while David Dorn and his wife Fanny Birnbaum were hiding elsewhere in Brussels. After the war, Lea Ginsberg tried to collect her son but Hans himself preferred to stay in Brussels with the Dorn-Birnbaum family. His parents Adolf and Lea got divorced and both remarried. Adolf remained in the United Kingdom, while Lea emigrated to Canada. Henri built a career in Belgium, becoming a journalist, a writer and a cinematographer known under the nickname Henri Roanne. He married three times and has children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Hans Rosenblatt alias Henri Roanne kindly permitted Kazerne Dossin to digitise his family archive in 2019. He was subsequently interviewed by volunteer Betty Swaab to document his story.

Hans Rosenblatt alias Henri Roanne, 2019