Samuel Perl. Collection

On October 16, 1920, Samuel Perl was born as the youngest son in a Jewish family with nine children in the village of Ruscova, in northern Romania (son of Chaim Mendel and Perla Rizel). In 1928, at the age of eight, he fled Romania with his family and arrived in Belgium. Since August 1932, he had been living on Ramstraat in Antwerp. He attended Jesode-Hatora Beth-Jacob school and became a businessman in the diamond industry, following the example of his older brothers. In May 1940, Germany invaded Belgium, and the Perl family decided to flee toward the French border, reaching Poperinge. However, after 18 days, Belgium was completely overrun, forcing Samuel and his family to return to Antwerp. Initially, things were calm, but from 1941 onwards, Jews were increasingly targeted. On Thursday, August 13, 1942, Samuel stayed overnight at a friend's house. That night, a first raid on Romanian Jews took place. The next morning, he discovered that his family had been arrested and their house sealed. He considered surrendering voluntarily but was advised against it by the friendly Baum family and other acquaintances. He decided to sneak into their sealed house on Ramstraat with his friend Gomair during the night of August 15-16, mainly in search of money. Once inside, they found that his family had only taken warm clothing; even the ingredients for the Sabbath meal were untouched in the pots. They were spotted by the police, who also entered the house. Samuel and Gomair tried to hide quickly; Gomair was caught, but Samuel miraculously was not found. The next day on the street, Samuel saw many distraught people with fearful expressions. The raid had deeply impacted the (Jewish) community. The situation became untenable, and four days after his family was taken, Samuel decided to flee to France. After a nerve-wracking three-day journey, he arrived in Lyon but learned that raids on Jews were also taking place there. He stayed in a hotel, but when the threat became too great, he went to his permanent hiding place in Lyon (with a Jewish editor and his family). Ultimately, the threat became too much, and Samuel decided to return to Antwerp after three weeks in Lyon. While it might not have been less dangerous there, at least he had a larger network to rely on. Back in Antwerp, he hoped to take turns hiding with various acquaintances. However, the promises made to him earlier no longer held. He was able to find refuge with the working-class Verbeeck-Goethals family. There, he was able to hide for several weeks, passing the time by reading, writing, corresponding, and occasionally visiting other hidden acquaintances. However, one December morning, things went wrong: Samuel had arranged to meet a business friend at Café Gerstmans, but instead of his business friend, two Gestapo men appeared in the café. Samuel was arrested and taken to the Dossin Barracks in Mechelen. Upon arrival, he was given a number, 784, around his neck, had to surrender all his belongings, and underwent a body search. On January 15, Samuel was placed on Transport XVIII to Auschwitz-Birkenau. However, Samuel did not wait for his final destination; just past Leuven, he decided to escape from the train with four other friends. In Zoutleeuw, some willing citizens took them in, allowing them to freshen up and satisfy their hunger after weeks of starvation. That same evening, they took the train to Antwerp, where Samuel decided to hide again with the Verbeeck-Goethals family. His freedom was short-lived, though. Just recovered from mild scabies contracted in the barracks, twelve Gestapo men raided his hiding place a week after his train escape (coincidentally, as they were looking for a labor draft dodger). This marked the beginning of a second period in the Dossin Barracks for Samuel. During registration, Samuel miraculously did not receive a punishment number for his escape but an ordinary tag. However, he did not enjoy this 'normal' treatment for long. About ten days later, he was summoned to the office of Erich Crull, a bookkeeping expert representing the Brüsseler Treuhandgesellschaft (BTG), an organization managing Jewish possessions. Crull wanted to know where Samuel was hiding his currency and diamonds. Samuel revealed nothing and was severely tortured: naked on a chair, with a burning cigar and cigarette on his most sensitive areas, and whipped. He then received a different number with a red tag and had the sides of his head shaved, a mark intended for "Flitsers," or escapees, as they were called in the jargon. On April 19, 1943, Transport XX departed. Due to the many train escapes, the Germans took some precautions: the escort was strengthened, the departure took place in the evening, and for the first time, cattle cars were used. Despite these measures, Samuel managed to escape again, this time with the necessary preparation: camp workers had smuggled various tools and hidden them in their wagon. During the journey, they sawed a large square at the front of the wagon, allowing Samuel, the sixth person chosen, to jump from the train. Just like his first escape, he was kindly received, this time near Tongeren. He decided to take the train to Namur (via Leuven and Brussels, where he traveled with schoolboys who looked out the window, exclaiming, "Look, there's a dead Jew," "There's another one," and so on until they reached Leuven) to stay with hidden family members. Samuel remained hidden in Namur, first on rue Hicguet (from April 20, 1943, to September 26, 1943) and then on Waterloostraat (from September 27, 1943, to September 14, 1944). Samuel later testified that he tried to lead a 'normal life' during this period. After the war, Samuel married Anna Baum, who had also been in hiding. They had two children: Pauline (born June 30, 1947) and Bernard (born February 21, 1950). Samuel also maintained contact with a Catholic priest from Namur (Abbé André), whom he helped hide Jewish children. Every Monday, he visited him. Samuel also contributed to the rebuilding of his old school, Jesode-Hatora Beth-Jacob, which reopened in 1945 with 17 students.

On 17 December 1996, Samuel Perl kindly permitted the Jewish Museum of Deportation and Resistance, predecessor of Kazerne Dossin, to digitise one form, two postcards and one photo in this collection. Later the Perl family also permitted Kazerne Dossin to digitise 1 diary, 1 foreword, 2 transcriptions, 1 statement, 1 yellow badge, 26 photos, 1 permit, 3 certificates, 1 obituary card, 1 bank note, 2 letters, 2 identity cards, 1 membership card, 1 card, 1 postcard, 2 in memoriams, 1 summary and 1 receipt.

Samuel Perl