Comité Hommage aux sauveurs - Comité Huldebetoon aan de redders. Collection

On 15 July 1965 the non-profit organisation “Mémorial national aux Martyrs juifs de Belgique” was officially founded. Its aim was the creation of a monument dedicated to all Jews deported from Belgium, an idea which had been launched in 1961. Among its founders were Maurice Pioro and David “Dov” Liebermann. Jean Bloch became the first president. On 19 April 1970 the national memorial for deported Jews was inaugurated in Anderlecht, Brussels. The non-profit then evolved into the Fondation Mémorial National aux Martyrs juifs de Belgique – Stichting Nationaal Monument voor de Joodse martelaren van België [National Memorial Foundation to the Jewish Martyrs of Belgium], responsible for the upkeep of the monument. Under the auspices of the Fondation other commemorative projects were set up. On 22 March 1978 Dov Liebermann launched the idea of an additional monument for Jewish resistance fighters and of a tribute to Belgians who had rescued Jews. The Comité d’Hommage des Juifs de Belgique à leurs Héros et Sauveurs (1940-1945) - Huldecomité van de Joden van België aan hun Helden en Redders (1940-1945) was created to realise both projects. Chaim Perelman and Joseph Komkommer became its co-presidents, Maurice Pioro the vice-president. The Comité d’Hommage (1940-1945) consisted of an executive bureau and two subcommittees: the Comité Monuments aux Héros [Monument for the Heros Committee], presided by Rik Szyffer and M. Schamisso, collected information on Jewish resistance fighters in order to create a plaque in their memory, while the Comité Hommage aux Sauveurs [Tribute to the Rescuers Committee], presided by J. Heller and L. Davids, focused on the organization of a ceremony for the rescuers, coinciding with the 150th anniversary of Belgium’s independence. In order to establish a guest list the Comité Hommage aux Sauveurs collected testimonies on the rescue of Jews in Belgium via diverse channels. Newspaper ads enticed the Jewish communities in Belgium to give testimony. The Comité thus received several thousand replies, not only from rescued Jews but also from rescuers, their relatives or friends, and third parties. On 2 June 1980 the Comité sent out a circular to all Belgian municipalities requesting information. Many municipal councils subsequently published ads in their local papers to collect stories or sent policemen around town to inquire about local stories. The Comité also reused the archives created for the tribute to Belgian rescuers organised on 5 May 1946: they copied the names and addresses of the rescuers that had been invited then and transferred these lists to the municipalities to check if these rescuers were still alive and, if so, what their contemporary address was. The Comité collected thousands of names of both rescuers and rescued Jews, and kept track of their contact information via an encoded index card file system. The ceremony in honour of Belgian rescuers took place at Forest National stadium in Brussels on 12 October 1980 under patronage of his Majesty King Baudouin and of the Consistoire Central Israélite de Belgique – Centraal Israëlitisch Consistorie van België. After the ceremony, all rescuers received the medal “L’entreaide” and an accompanying certificate as a token of appreciation. The Comité Hommage aux Sauveurs seized its activities on 16 March 1981.

The records created by the Comité Hommage aux sauveurs - Comité Huldebetoon aan de redders were managed by Judith Kronfeld, secretary of the Comité, and were presumably stored at the headquarters of their umbrella organisation, the Comité d’Hommage des Juifs de Belgique à leurs Héros et Sauveurs (1940-1945) - Huldecomité van de Joden van België aan hun Helden en Redders (1940-1945), at Gulden-Vlieslaan / Avenue de la Toison d’Or 16 – b3 in Brussels. It is unclear what happened to the records after the Comité Hommage aux sauveurs disbanded 16 March 1981. The original records were donated to the Jewish Museum of Deportation and Resistance, predecessor of Kazerne Dossin, on 19 March 2001 by Rik Szyffer, cofounder of the Comité d’Hommage (1940-1945) - Huldecomité (1940-1945) and president of the Union des Anciens Résistants juifs de Belgique - Vereniging van Joodse Oud-Weerstanders van België [Association of former Jewish Restistance fighters of Belgium].

Rik Szyffer, cofounder of the Comité d’Hommage des Juifs de Belgique à leurs Héros et Sauveurs (1940-1945) - Huldecomité van de Joden van België aan hun Helden en Redders (1940-1945), 2001