Family at their home in Belgium during World War II

Identifier
irn1004732
Language of Description
English
Alt. Identifiers
  • 2013.131.1
  • RG-60.1456
Level of Description
Item
Languages
  • Silent
Source
EHRI Partner

Creator(s)

Biographical History

Carl de Brouwer, a Belgian banker manager, and his wife Denise offered refuge to two Jewish children during the Nazi occupation of Belgium. Between late 1942 and September 1944, the de Brouwers sheltered 6-year-old Adrien Sapcaru and 12-year-old Monique Mogoulsky in their private home in St Denis-Westrem, near Ghent, Belgium. Monique was the daughter of Carl's former co-worker at the bank in Ghent; her parents successfully hid in Ghent during the war until liberation in 1944. Adrien was the son of a Jewish Romanian architecture professor at Ghent University; Adrien's parents were deported and his mother killed; his father survived and returned for Adrien and his brother after the end of the war. Adrien assumed the name Adrien Simons and was also known as Dickie. He now lives in Canada as Adrian Sheppard.

Scope and Content

In COLOR, various scenes of the de Brouwers at St. Denis-Westrem. CUs of Denise in a fur coat relaxing in the family garden; Carl poses near the apiary; Denise gathers flowers and smokes at a table decorated with flowers and tea; Madeleine, the cook's daughter, and Colette watch the Jersey cows; CUs of a local worker; CUs of Carl and Denise playing with Jean-Marie. 00:19:34 Jacques and Birgitte recite a poem.

Note(s)

  • Digital transfer made from DigiBeta tape.

  • The research section at IWM produced a short video to mark Holocaust Memorial Day 2013 using some of this footage and featuring Adrien Sapcaru who, as a child, was hidden by the de Brouwer family: "A Child hiding from the Nazis" - http://www.iwm.org.uk/videos/a-child-in-hiding-from-the-nazis.

Subjects

Places

Genre

This description is derived directly from structured data provided to EHRI by a partner institution. This collection holding institution considers this description as an accurate reflection of the archival holdings to which it refers at the moment of data transfer.