Vanderhoydonck family. Collection

In the early afternoon of 18 January 1941 a train carried 261 Jewish men, women and children from Antwerp to Limburg. This was neither the first nor the last such convoy to leave from the Antwerp south train station. In total, between 21 December 1940 and 12 February 1941, 3293 foreigners (mainly Jews) from Antwerp were relocated to Limburg by the Nazis. Nine transports took them to 35 different municipalities. Each of the trains halted in Hasselt, where the Antwerpians were awaited by a representative of the province of Limburg as well as the mayors of the municipalities where they were to be housed. The reason for this relocation remains unclear, but it is generally explained as a protective measure to secure the Antwerp harbor. On 18 January 1941, one of the dignitaries awaiting the train in Hasselt was Frans Driesen, mayor of Wijchmaal (today part of Peer). After subsequent stops in Zonhoven, Houthalen and Helchteren, the convoy arrived in Wijchmaal at 8 PM. There, twenty Jewish men, women and children exited the train. The group consisted of Rywka Bombach and her son Herz Kanarek (6 years old), Arbe and Rachela Koral-Vogel with their son Kurt (4 years old), Aron and Emma Muhlstein-Ullmann with their daughter Renée (1,5 years old) and Aron’s sister Reisel Muhlstein, Jacheskel and Jochwed Neuss-Rothenberg, Sipra Ginzburg and her adult daughter Estera Tencer, and singles Eide Blechaite, Simon Blutental and Rachel Brand. Mayor Driesen had the group initially housed at a café and hotel at Spoorwegstraat, owned by the Gijbels-Jansen family. After two days, the group was split up. Some were moved to the Geys family farm at ‘de Dijk’ [the Dyke] in Wijchmaal, while others were transferred to a house at Achtzaligheden. The Jewish expellees from Antwerp would remain there until Autumn 1941. To keep track of them, the people had to report at the town hall daily. While in Wijchmaal, the Jewish Antwerpians continued to practice their rituals and religion. On Shabbat they requested their neighbors to light the stove. Although the Jewish newcomers received some food and clothing from Winterhulp [Winter Aid], these rations did not suffice, because of which multiple of the Jewish women laid contact with local farmers to obtain additional food supplies. Among those who helped, were siblings Leen, Mie and Tinus Vanderhoydonck who ran their family farm at Peerderbaan in Wijchmaal. Leen was especially keen on helping, and would defy the Nazis further by housing a Canadian pilot during the last months of the war. As of Summer 1941 the expulsion to Limburg was gradually lifted and the Jewish families had to leave Limburg. Not knowing what would happen to them, one of the Jewish women, in the company of her child, brought her porcelain coffee set to the Vanderhoydonck farm, where Leen, Mie and Tinus were also housing their nephew Godfried alias Frie Ceyssens. The Jewish woman, whose name is not recorded but who was from Vienna, ensured the Vanderhoydonck family that she would return to recover the porcelain after the war. Sadly, she never came back to retrieve her belongings. Out of respect, Leen, Mie and Tinus Vanderhoydonck never used the coffee set. When Leen Vanderhoydonck passed away, she left the objects to her nephew Godfried who built a special showcase to keep the items safe. After his passing in 2013 and the passing of his wife Miet Keunen in 2023, Godfried and Miet’s children – who grew up with the story of the porcelain coffee set – made a final attempt to identify the original owners in order to return the objects. With the help of Kazerne Dossin, it was determined that there were two Viennese families with children in Wijchmaal in 1941: the Koral-Vogel family and the Muhlstein-Ullmann family. Both of them survived the Holocaust. All others sent to Wijchmaal in 1941 were deported and murdered with the exception of one person who survived Auschwitz-Birkenau. The Ceyssens family and Kazerne Dossin were able to contact descendants of the Koral family and the Muhlstein family, unfortunately without being able to identify the original owner.

In 1941, a Jewish family from Antwerp entrusted this coffee set to Leen, Mie and Tinus Vanderhoydonck of Wijchmaal, Limburg, for safekeeping. When the set was not collected after the war, Leen, Mie and Tinus' nephew Godfried (Frie) Ceyssens stored it in a specially made display case, hoping that the rightful claimants would one day come forward. Godfried passed away in 2013. In late 2023, Godfried's children launched an investigation into the original owner of the tableware. Two Jewish families were identified, but unfortunately the exact owner could not be determined. In 2024, the Ceyssens family decided on a long term loan to Kazerne Dossin. Potential claimants may contact Kazerne Dossin at any time to discuss their claim.

Johan, Jos, Ria, Magda, Frans, Hilde, Luc and Marc Ceyssens, 2024