Golbert-Zagrai-Lazar family

Georges Golbert-Zagrai was born in Orléans, France, on 24 November 1920 as the son of Israel alias Sroul Golbert-Zagrai (born in 1870 in Zhitomir, Russian empire) and Sura Foder Lazar (born in 1883 in Kansk, Russian empire). Georges’ parents had celebrated their wedding in Piotrkow, Russian empire, in 1903. Georges’ two eldest siblings were both born in Zhitomir: Beila in 1904 and Lea in 1906. Lea presumably did not survive infancy. Before the start of the First World War Georges’ family emigrated from Russia to France, where Georges’ mother Sura gave birth to three more children: Marie (born on 20 April 1913 in Paris), Samuel (born on 8 May 1915 in Paris) and Georges himself. On 15 May 1922 the Golbert-Zagrai family arrived in Antwerp where they settled at Somersstraat 10. They changed addresses multiple times, while father Israel provided for his family by working as a matrass producer. On 1 May 1925 Georges’ eldest sister Beila Golbert-Zagrai passed away in Antwerp. Georges was only 5 years old at the time. By 1928 he, his parents, his sister Marie and his brother Samuel were living at Plantin en Moretuslei 96. Georges’ parents Sura and Israel then separated, after which Georges and his siblings continued to live with their mother Sura. Georges’ father Israel passed away in Antwerp on 12 December 1931. Georges’ mother Sura struggled to take care of her three remaining children. She earned some money by doing laundry for other families, but all-in-all the family remained poor. In 1932 they moved from Leeuwerikstraat 46 to Bloemstraat 50 in Borgerhout. Georges’ struggled tremendously as a teenager, due to which he became a warden of the state in 1935. As of 1938 he worked as a sailor. The immigration authorities, keeping a close eye on him, also observed that Georges had communist convictions. Georges then met his future wife Elisa Le Bastard, who was born on 22 April 1921 in Borgerhout. Georges found employment as a plumber, working for Elisa’s father Henricus Le Bastard. Georges and Elisa got married in Antwerp on 6 July 1940 and settled at Kattenberg 71 in Borgerhout, right above the workshop of Elisa’s father. On 9 April 1941 Elisa gave birth to a son named Edmond Golbert-Zagrai. During the war, Georges was forced to obey the anti-Jewish decrees. He registered in the municipal Jewish register on 22 November 1940 and he had the words ‘Jood-Juif’ stamped in his ID in summer 1941. On 13 June 1942 Georges was sent to the labour camps Dannes and Condette in Northern France. Together with 2250 other Jewish men from Belgium he had to perform forced labour for Organisation Todt, responsible for building the Atlantic Wall. After his escape from the labour camp and his return to Antwerp in early October 1942, Georges went into hiding, but he was arrested 24 days later by the Dietsche Militie – Zwarte Brigade. From 17 October 1942 until 16 February 1943 Georges was imprisoned at the Begijnenstraat prison. During his internment he was severely beaten and shot in the shoulder. He was eventually released because he kept on insisting he was not Jewish. In December 1943 Georges was sentenced to one year in jail for having stolen a bike, according to his own account because he wanted to go back to a Belgian jail where he thought he would be safe from the Nazis. Georges was still in prison when Belgium was liberated in September 1944. He rejoined his family after his release in late 1945 and became a sailor. Georges Golbert-Zagrai passed away in 1973. Georges’ brother Samuel and his sister Marie also survived the war. Unfortunately, their mother Sura Foder Lazar was not so lucky. On 13 July 1942 she had moved to Bloemstraat 54. In the night of 28 on 29 August 1942 Sura was lifted from her bed during the second large anti-Jewish raid organised in Antwerp. She was deported from the Dossin barracks to Auschwitz-Birkenau on 1 September 1942 via transport VII. It is highly likely that she was sent to the gas chamber immediately upon arrival. Sura Foder Lazar did not survive deportation.

On 7 November 2023 Philippe Golbert-Zagrai kindly permitted Kazerne Dossin to digitise several documents and photos from his family archive. Philippe had come to Kazerne Dossin that day to record the name of his great-grandmother Sura Foder Lazar for the Every Name Matters project.

Philippe Golbert-Zagrai, 2023