Exile, Refuge and Murder

fleeing to Brussels

Henny and Hermann managed to escape from Germany in October 1939. They fled to Brussels with little money and few belongings and lived amongst other Jewish refugees. They planned to emigrate to relatives in America but this became increasingly difficult. They were arrested in May 1940 when Germany invaded Belgium, and then sent to Paris.

Arette

From Paris, Henny and Hermann were sent to separate internment camps in the south-west of France. They were both freed when France surrendered and allowed to live freely in Arette - a village in the unoccupied zone, very near to the Spanish border and the Pyrénées – where local people such as Amélie Derrez gave them support, help, and friendship.

Drancy and Auschwitz

In August 1942, French police arrested them as part of the collaboration between the German occupiers and the Vichy government to be rid of the Jews. They were taken to a local internment camp, and then by train to the internment camp at Drancy in Paris. On 4 September they were taken by train to Auschwitz where they were murdered on arrival.