Mieczyslaw Tannenbaum. Collection
Extent and Medium
2 digitised images (2 photocopies)
Biographical History
Mieczyslaw Tannenbaum was born on 25 January 1910 in Rzeszow, Poland, as the son of Jacob Tannenbaum and Paula Eberson. In 1927, Mieczyslaw immigrated to Belgium via Hannover, Germany, and Leiden, the Netherlands. In Belgium, Mieczyslaw worked as a nurse. He married Liza Sternberg, who was born in Antwerp on 24 July 1907. At the outbreak of war, Mieczyslaw worked for the Red Cross. During the war, he and his wife Liza first lived at Vestingstraat 40 in Antwerp, and, as of October 1941, at Avenue Royal 218 in Brussels. Mieczyslaw became a resistance fighter, joining the Comet network for which he smuggled British and American airmen, shot down over Belgium or the Netherlands, to southern France where they could cross the Pyrenees into Spain. Mieczyslaw survived the war, and was honored for his rescue work by the British and the American authorities.
Archival History
On 13 February 1997, James Tannenbaum kindly donated the two photocopies in this collection to the Jewish Museum of Deportation and Resistance, predecessor of Kazerne Dossin.
Acquisition
James Tannenbaum, 1997
Scope and Content
This collection contains : a photocopy of a certificate issued post-war by American president Dwight D. Eisenhower to Mieczyslaw Tannenbaum, for helping allied soldiers escape to Spain via the Comet Network ; a photocopy of a certificate issued post-war by the British Air Chief Marshal to Mieczyslaw Tannenbaum, for helping British soldiers, sailors and airmen to escape to Spain via the Comet Network.
Accruals
No further accruals are to be expected.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Only photocopies of the original documents were obtained.
Existence and Location of Originals
James Tannenbaum, private collection
Subjects
- Civil resistance
- Human trafficking
- Allied forces