Anna Slomovic. Collection

Anna alias Jeanne Slomovic was born in Brussels on 24 August 1933 as the daughter of the Czechoslovakian master butcher Chaskel Slomovic (born on 16 May 1901 in Selosololvina, Czechoslovakia) and his wife Gita Goldsteinova (born on 24 January 1907 in Cracianesti, Romania). Anna’s baby brother Leon was born in Brussels on 17 August 1939. When Nazi Germany invaded Belgium on 10 May 1940 the Slomovic family lived in Brussels. They were forced to obey the anti-Jewish decrees installed as of 28 October 1940. On 19 December 1940 father Chaskel registered himself, his wife and both children in the municipal Jewish register of Belgium. The family was living at Rue du Dam 24 in Brussels at the time. On 13 February 1943 Anna was put into hiding via the Brussels network of Louis Labille. Courier Arthur Verstraete escorted the girl to pastor Gustaaf Leus in Ursel who hid her at the Martens-Devoghelare family farm. On 25 April 1943 Anna was baptized and, on the same day, she celebrated her first communion in Ursel. She survived the war there and was reunited with her parents and brother Leon who had also gone into hiding (location unknown). After the war Anna Slomovic moved to the United States where she married Harold Hochman with whom she built a family.

The photos and document in this collection were created at the Martens-Devoghelare family farm in Ursel where Anna Slomovic was hidden. In 2022 Philippe De Gusseme, grandson of the Martens-Devoghelare family, kindly donated the original items to Kazerne Dossin.

Philippe De Gusseme, grandson of the rescuers of Anna Slomovic, 2022