Hirsch-Zugman family. Collection

Leopold alias Leon Hirsch was born in Antwerp, Belgium, on 20 April 1907 as the son of diamond trader Simon Hirsch (born on 19 December 1875 in Krakow, Poland) and Rywka alias Regina Hirsch (born on 26 January 1878 in Krakow, Poland). Leon’s parents were of Polish decent, and lived at Korte Kievistraat 15 in Antwerp. Leon had two younger siblings: Ernestine, born on 10 July 1912, and Elias, born on 12 December 1914. At the outbreak of the First World War, the Hirsch family fled from Belgium to the Netherlands, a neutral country, where they settled at Renbaan 74 in Scheveningen. They returned to Belgium only on 9 September 1920, and lived at Provinciestraat 242 in Antwerp. Leon Hirsch obtained Belgian nationality on 21 October 1925, at the age of 18, and became a diamond clover. In the early 1930s he and his family moved to Walvisstraat 2. On 18 August 1936, Leon Hirsch married Czipa Zugman. Czipa was born in Uhnow, Poland (today Ukraine), on 23 June 1914 as the daughter of Abraham Zugman (born on 16 September 1887 in Sokal, Poland, today Ukraine) and Sara Lea Lieberman (born on 1 August 1882 in Uhnow). Czipa held Polish nationality and became a seamstress. On 1st January 1930, she arrived in Belgium, together with her brother Isak Zugman (born on 10 December 1911 in Uhnow). The siblings moved in with their father Abraham and their elder sister Feiga who were living at Bloemstraat 50 in Borgerhout, Antwerp. In April 1930, after the arrival of Czipa’s mother Sara Lea Lieberman and Czipa’s two younger sisters – Hanera Marjem, born on 27 October 1916, and Rachel, born in June 1922 - the Zugman family moved to Marinisstraat 5 in Borgerhout. After their marriage in 1936, Leon and Czipa Hirsch-Zugman settled at Korte Altaarstraat 8 in Antwerp. Their two eldest children were born there: Charles in 1938 and Rita on 2 January 1940. When, on 10 May 1940, Nazi-Germany invaded Belgium, the Hirsch-Zugman family fled to France. Several of their relatives joined them, including Leon’s parents Simon and Regina Hirsch-Hirsch, Leon’s siblings Ernestine and Elias Hirsch, Czipa’s parents Abraham and Sara Lea Zugman-Lieberman and Czipa’s youngest sister Rachel. Leon’s father Simon Hirsch passed away in Montpellier, France, on 11 December 1940. Leon, Czipa and their children ended up living in the village of Luchon, as did Leon’s now widowed mother Regina and Leon’s sister Ernestine. At the end of 1941, in Luchon, Czipa gave birth to her youngest child: a girl named Helene. At an unknown date – presumably when foreign Jews in France were forcefully centralised in dedicated towns – the family relocated to the French village of Lacaune. Leon Hirsch, Czipa Zugman and their family were living at Rue de la Poste in Lacaune when, on 20 February 1943, Leon was arrested. He was first held at the Rivesaltes internment camp for a few days, before being transferred to the Gurs internment camp on 26 February 1943. Leon was deported from the Drancy assembly camp near Paris to the Majdanek extermination centre on 4 March 1943, on board transport 50. In all likelihood, he was killed upon arrival. Czipa and her three children survived the war, as did Leon’s mother Regina Hirsch and Leon’s sister Ernestine Hirsch. Sadly, many other relatives were murdered. Leon’s brother Elias Hirsch was deported from Drancy to Auschwitz-Birkenau via transport 18 on 12 August 1942, Czipa’s parents and sister Rachel via transport 28 on 4 September 1942. Czipa’s eldest sister Feiga Zugman, her brother-in-law Willem Horowitz and their children Liliane (Lilly) and Marcel were deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau on board the Belgian transports XI and XVI, Czipa’s brother Isak, her sister-in-law Philippina Strassberg and their son Arnold, on board transports XIII and XXIV. After the war, Leon and Czipa’s children Charles, Rita and Helene Hirsch built their own families. Rita married Benzion Scharia, who was born in Antwerp on 22 January 1927. In May 1940 Benzion, his younger brother Ruwen, his two sisters Szeina and Chana, and their mother Rachel Bendas (widow of Lejba alias Leib Scharia) had fled Antwerp. All of them were able to reach Switzerland where they survived the war, after which they emigrated to British mandate Palestine.

David Scharia, grandson of Leon Hirsch and Czipa Zugman, inherited the items in this collection from his mother Rita Hirsch and from his father Benzion Scharia. David kindly permitted Kazerne Dossin to digitise the photos and documents during a reading room visit on 23 February 2024.

David Scharia, 2024