Andree Geulen-Herscovici
Encyclopedia
Andrée Geulen-Herscovici (1921 - ) is a Belgian woman who, with others, rescued approximately 1,000 Jewish children during the Holocaust.
In 1942, the then Ms. Geulen was working as a schoolteacher in Brussels
when the Gestapo
arrived to arrest the Jewish children. She decided to join Jewish rescue organization Committee for the Defense of the Jews. For more than two years, she moved Jewish children to live with Christian families and monasteries. She would continue to visit them and care for their needs. By keeping a secret record of the children's true identities, after the war she attempted to reunite them with their families if any survived.
In 1989, Andrée Geulen was recognized as a Righteous Among the Nations
, and on April 18, 2007, she was granted honorary Israeli citizenship in a ceremony at Yad Vashem
, as part of the Children Hidden in Belgium During the Shoah International Conference. Upon accepting the honor, Geulen-Herscovici said, "What I did was merely my duty. Disobeying the laws of the time was just the normal thing to do."
In 1942, the then Ms. Geulen was working as a schoolteacher in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
when the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
arrived to arrest the Jewish children. She decided to join Jewish rescue organization Committee for the Defense of the Jews. For more than two years, she moved Jewish children to live with Christian families and monasteries. She would continue to visit them and care for their needs. By keeping a secret record of the children's true identities, after the war she attempted to reunite them with their families if any survived.
In 1989, Andrée Geulen was recognized as a Righteous Among the Nations
Righteous Among the Nations
Righteous among the Nations of the world's nations"), also translated as Righteous Gentiles is an honorific used by the State of Israel to describe non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust to save Jews from extermination by the Nazis....
, and on April 18, 2007, she was granted honorary Israeli citizenship in a ceremony at Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem is Israel's official memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, established in 1953 through the Yad Vashem Law passed by the Knesset, Israel's parliament....
, as part of the Children Hidden in Belgium During the Shoah International Conference. Upon accepting the honor, Geulen-Herscovici said, "What I did was merely my duty. Disobeying the laws of the time was just the normal thing to do."