Kuchler-Wajswol family. Collection

Alfred Kuchler was born in Berlin, Germany, on 14 September 1919 as the son of Josef Kuchler and Golda Süss (sometimes Grün). Alfred became a furniture maker. On 15 July 1939, he clandestinely crossed the German-Belgian border near Herbesthal and reported with the Belgian immigration authorities to request a Belgian residence permit. It was Alfred’s intention to obtain a visa for France and to join his brother Adolf Kuchler, who worked for the Pariser Tageszeitung in Paris. In Belgium, Alfred received help from the Comité d’Assistance aux Réfugiés Juifs [Jewish Refugees Aid Committee] in order to provide for himself. Nonetheless, as a single, male refugee he was admitted to the Merksplas refugee center on 26 April 1940. Alfred was released sometime after the invasion of Belgium by Nazi-Germany in May 1940. During the war, he was forced to obey the anti-Jewish decrees. In early 1941, for example, he registered in the municipal Jewish register of Anderlecht. At the time, Alfred was living at Rue Brogniez 75 in Anderlecht. In Belgium, Alfred met Malka alias Mirjam Wajswol. Malka was born on 6 July 1919 in Opatów, Poland, as the daughter of Chaskiel or Chaskel Wajswol and Dobra Eisenbuch. Malka had seven siblings: Icek (born in 1917), Moszek (born in 1918), Sura (born in 1920), Rajzla or Rosa (born in 1923), Henryk or Harry (born in 1924), Jacob Lejzer (born in 1926) and Szymon (born in 1928). The Wajswol family had arrived in Belgium in 1929. Malka first went to school and was then employed as a factory worker. The family lived at several addresses in Antwerp, and, in 1934, settled at Bouwensstraat 34 where they still resided at the outbreak of war in May 1940. Alfred Kuchler and Malka Wajswol married in Borgerhout on 17 May 1941, after which they first lived at Avenue Clemenceau 57 in Anderlecht. Within a few months they moved to Rue Sergent De Bruyne 11 and eventually to Rue Emile Carpentier 43 in the same municipality. At their last address, the couple was joined by Malka’s eldest brother Icek Wajswol who married Frieda Wurzel (born on 4 April 1917 in Cieszanów, Poland) on 19 March 1942. Icek continued to live with his sister Malka and brother-in-law Alfred, who, from 4 May 1942, were living at Rue Kessels 55 in Schaerbeek, while Frieda remained with her sister Chaja Wurzel in Antwerp. Sadly, Frieda, Chaja and Chaja’s daughter Sara Englander were arrested during the second large anti-Jewish raid in Antwerp (28 on 29 August 1942) and were deported from the Dossin barracks to Auschwitz-Birkenau via transport VII on 1st September 1942. All of them were murdered. On 30 October 1942 Malka Wajswol gave birth to a baby boy named Jacques. Not long after, Malka and her brother Icek left Brussels, taking baby Jacques with them. It remains unclear why Malka’s husband Alfred stayed behind in Belgium. Malka, Jacques and Icek managed to reach Switzerland via France on an unknown date. They were then housed at the Materna Rovio institute in Tessin, a school used as a refugee camp, and they received support from the Verband Schweizerischer Jüdischer Fürsorgen. Upon Liberation, Malka was eager to receive news from her husband Alfred in Brussels. In February 1945 contact was finally established and Malka was relieved to hear that her husband was alive and well. They immediately started making arrangements for her, Jacques and Icek to return to Belgium. In Summer 1945 Malka, Jacques and Icek were repatriated to Brussels. Malka and Icek then learned that they were the sole survivors of their large family as their father Chaskiel, their mother Dobra, and their siblings Moszek, Sura, Rajzla, Henryk, Jacob Lejzer and Szymon had reported at the SS-Sammellager Mecheln (Dossin barracks) with an Arbeitseinsatzbefehl (work order) on 22 August 1942 and were deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau via transport VI on 29 August 1942. None of them were repatriated after the war. Alfred too lost most of his close relatives during the Holocaust. Although his brother Adolf, who was living in Paris, survived deportation and returned to France, their widowed father Josef Kuchler, their sister Regina and their brother Jacob Kuchler, who had remained in Berlin, were murdered during the Holocaust. After their reunion, Alfred, Malka and Jacques continued to live at Rue Kessels 55 in Schaerbeek. Alfred found employment in the diamond industry. In 1947 Malka gave birth to their second child: a baby girl named Diana. Alfred, Malka and their children continued to live in Belgium while Malka’s brother Icek emigrated to Israel. Alfred passed away on 8 November 2008, Malka in X.

On 18 March 2024 Nathalie Kuchler-Miodownik, granddaughter of Alfred and Malka Kuchler-Wajswol, kindly donated the items in this collection to Kazerne Dossin on behalf of her entire family.

Nathalie Kuchler-Miodownik, 2024