1.5 million of the European Jews murdered during the Holocaust were children. Belgian Holocaust survivor, Lee Mendelson, was among the thousands of orphans who survived this brutal carnage as hidden children throughout the duration of World War II. When I visited Lee in his home, he shared his story of survival as an orphaned infant.
“I was born in Brussels, Belgium on August 12th, 1941. The war began in Belgium following Germany’s conquering of the country in May 1940. I have no recollection of my mother, Ida Farkas, since I was orphaned when I was only eight months old. Through archival documentation that was discovered in a vault at the Jewish Museum of Deportation and Resistance (JMDR), I was able to confirm my mother’s birthday, the day she was deported to Auschwitz as well as the day she was murdered. The JMDR opened in 1996 in Mechelen, Belgium. The museum was the result of a collaboration between the Jewish Central Consistory of Belgium and the Association of Jewish Deportees. The museum’s mission was to digitize all archival collections related to the Holocaust in Belgium and to make these documents available to the public. In 2012, the museum was renamed Kazerne Dossin Memorial, Museum and Documentation Center on Holocaust and Human Rights. It is located at the site of the former SS-Sammellager Mecheln, better known as the Dossin barracks. Between 1942 and 1944, 25,000 Jews from Belgium, including my mother, were deported to Auschwitz. Fewer than 2,000 deportees survived the Holocaust.”
Mendelson shared recollections of going into hiding.
“In the months following my birth, my mother and another Jewish woman named Rosa made a pact. The two women decided that if one of them was killed, the other would take care of their children. Rosa had a daughter my age named Renee. After my mother was captured, Rosa fulfilled the agreement she made with her. Rosa was street smart, you had to be to survive. She was a very humble and compassionate person and treated me as if I was her own son. Rosa took me to a family who owned a Flemish farm located about an hour’s distance from Brussels. Flemish is a combination of Dutch, French and German influences. Julia was the woman who owned the farm. She was later honored by the State of Israel for saving me and other Jewish children during the war. When I visited the town where the farm was located a few years ago, I reconnected with Julia’s daughter and grandchildren who told me my name had come up in conversation just prior to my surprise visit. After I had been living on the farm for some time, Rosa took me to a convent in Brussels where I spent a year. She moved me there fearing that Julia’s Nazi sympathizer husband might turn me over to the Gestapo. I remember Rosa reminding me that I was Jewish and to try to refrain from engaging in Christian practices.”
Mendelson recalled life following the war.
“In January 1948 when I was six years old, I sailed on an ocean liner named Aquitania bound for Halifax, Nova Scotia. From Halifax I traveled by train to Montreal where I was placed in a Jewish orphanage. Shortly afterwards I was adopted by a couple who also adopted two Canadian children. My adoptive parents were givers and never asked for anything in return. When I first arrived in Canada I could only speak Flemish. I learned English in the public school I attended. I was mocked by the other children for being a foreigner. I didn’t even know what a telephone or light switch was. When I was 13 years old I joined the B’nai B’rith Youth Organization. Joining BBYO was the turning point in my life where I was finally able to identify as a Jew. When I was a teenager I took any job I could to try and make money which included delivering everything from newspapers to milk. As I got older I worked in the family’s second hand merchandising business and became familiar with buying and selling antiques, art and jewelry. Years later I used this knowledge to go into the jewelry business myself after moving to Florida. I have three sons from my first marriage and a daughter from my second marriage.”
Mendelson shared his words of wisdom.
“The experiences I lived through have given me a greater appreciation for life. I believe what happened during the Holocaust should be passed down from generation to generation and never forgotten. Unfortunately, today’s society has not learned from history.”
