Charles Benedictus. Collection

Charles Benedictus was born in Antwerp, Belgium, on 22 March 1903 as the eldest son of Isaac Samson alias Isidore Benedictus (born on 21 November 1870 in Antwerp) and Amelie Haas (born on 19 May 1877 in Kleve, Germany). Charles had a younger brother named Maurice, who was born on 15 March 1907. The Benedictus family was not particularly pious but, as they were well-to-do, they did financially support a Jewish philanthropic society. All relatives had Belgian nationality, although they were originally of Dutch decent. Charles’ paternal grandparents Samson Benedictus and Esther Benedictus had both been born in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, but had immigrated to Belgium in the 1840s and had married in Antwerp in 1868. Charles’ great-grandfather Isaac Benedictus (father of Esther Benedictus), in 1857, founded the Antwerp cigar factory ‘Manufacture de Cigares I. Benedictus’, initially known as ‘Benedictus & Pinkhof’, located at Oostenstraat 45/46 in Antwerp, which produced the internationally distributed Primus inter Pares cigars. During the First World War some members of the family, such as Charles’ grandmother Esther Benedictus, presumably found refuge in the Netherlands, after which they returned to Belgium. Charles Benedictus studied humanities at the Lycée d’Anvers in Antwerp. In December 1920 Charles took on a job working for his father Isaac Samson Benedictus who succeeded Charles’ grandfather Samson Benedictus as the director of the Benedictus cigar factory. Charles climbed within the company and became the manager of the branch responsible for exporting the cigars. In 1921-1922 Charles also performed his military service. On 14 November 1934 he married the non-Jewish Belgian Maria Cavents (born on 11 February 1907 in Antwerp) with whom he had two sons: Paul, who was born in Antwerp on 28 April 1936, and Louis Isidore, who was born in Berchem on 28 August 1938. The family moved to De Merodelei 37 in Berchem around the time of Louis’ birth. On 10 May 1940 Nazi-Germany invaded Belgium. As a Belgian citizen who had performed his military service, Charles Benedictus had already been called under arms months prior to the invasion. He served during the 18 Days’ Campaign and was taken prisoner. Charles was held at Stalag XIII A, a POW camp near Bad Sulzbach, Germany, from the end of May until the end of July 1940, after which he was allowed to return to his family in Antwerp. In the months that followed, Charles was forced to obey the anti-Jewish decrees installed in Belgium. He registered himself in the municipal Jewish register in December 1940 and had his ID card stamped with the red letters “Jood-Juif” in Summer 1941. In Spring 1941 Charles, together with his parents Isaac Samson and Amelie Benedictus-Haas and his brother Maurice, obtained a second residence located at Schermkunststraat 37/39 in Forest, Brussels, where they all resided from time to time. Around the same time they came up with a plan to prevent the family business from being placed under Nazi sequester and from being liquidated. Isaac Samson ‘sold’ their cigar factory to their non-Jewish friend Mister F. Diels, who was to manage it until after the war. At the end of November 1941 the Militärverwaltung in Brussels decreed the creation of the Association of Jews in Belgium (Jewish council, AJB). Charles’ brother Maurice became one of the leaders of the AJB, as he accepted a position on the board of directors. Maurice also became the secretary of the board and the vice-president of the local AJB committee in Antwerp. As a high ranking member of the AJB, Maurice Benedictus was charged with organizing Jewish obligatory labor. At the end of May 1942 the yellow star of David became obligatory for all Jews from the age of six in Belgium. On 4 June 1942 Charles Benedictus received a certificate exempting him from wearing the badge. Mid-June he also obtained an exemption from the anti-Jewish decree forcing Jews to spend the night at their official residence. As his wife Maria and their sons Paul and Louis were residing in villa Coucou in Heide-Kalmthout for the summer, Charles received permission to join his family there instead of remaining in Antwerp. Meanwhile, his certificate to not wear the yellow badge was prolonged time and again. In September 1942 disaster struck the Benedictus family. Although staff members of the AJB were, to some extent, exempted from arrest and deportation, Charles’ brother Maurice and several other leaders of the AJB were arrested. Maurice was held at the fortress of Breendonk from 29 September until 3 October 1942. His captivity might have been one of the reasons for the Benedictus family to flee Belgium. In the course of December 1942 Charles Benedictus, his brother Maurice, his sister-in-law Ellen Jeanne Levy and at least their father Isaac Samson made their way south, presumably via France and Spain, to Portugal. The whereabouts of their mother Amelie Haas remain unknown. Charles’ non-Jewish wife Maria and both their sons remained in Antwerp. While in Lisbon, Portugal, Maurice wrote an extensive report on the persecution of the Jews in Belgium for the Belgian government in London. On 9 February 1943, Charles, Maurice and Maurice’s wife Ellen arrived in Goma, the Belgian Congo, where both men joined the army. From 25 February 1943 until 14 June 1944 Charles worked for the military supplies office, while living at Hotel de Belgique in Leopoldville. He was then transferred to perform civil service for the Belgian radio broadcasting network in Leopoldville. Maurice joined the Belgian army until he and his wife left for South-Africa at the end of January 1944. It remains unclear if their father Isaac Samson Benedictus and/or their mother Amelie Haas made it to the Belgian Congo. Isaac Samson Benedictus passed away in Pamplona, Spain, on 8 August 1945, Amelie Haas in Antwerp around 1947. Upon his return from the Belgian Congo in September 1945, Charles Benedictus settled in Brussels and took over the Benedictus cigar factory from family friend Diels. Charles divorced Maria Cavents and married Jeanne Wurms with whom he had a third son. Between 1946 and 1948 Charles received the honorary title of Knight in the Crown Order and several medals, including the ‘Medal for Colonial Efforts in the War of 1940-1945’, the ‘Commemorative Medal for the war of 1940-1945’ and the ‘Cross of Escapees’. Charles remained in Belgium, while his brother Maurice permanently settled in South-Africa in 1953. Charles Benedictus died on 3 March 1975, his ex-wife Maria Cavents having passed away only a few weeks earlier on 27 January 1975. Both their sons married. Eldest son Paul Benedictus had children and grandchildren who still reside in Belgium today.

The items in this collection were preserved during the occupation by Charles Benedictus and his wife Maria Cavents. After they both passed away in 1975 the items were transferred to their son Paul Benedictus and via him to their grandchildren Gigi and Guy Benedictus. On 28 April 2023 Gigi and Guy Benedictus kindly permitted Kazerne Dossin to digitise their family archival collection.

Gigi and Guy Benedictus, 2023