Théodore Kornblum. Collection

Théodore (Théo) Kornblum was born in Borgerhout in 1932, the son of Salomon Kornblum, a dockworker, and Rywka Szwarcfuter, a kind, caring housewife. Although the family was more traditional than religious, Yiddish was spoken at home. When the Nazis invaded Belgium, Théo and his family fled with a cart all the way to De Panne by the Belgian coast, however by then the whole of Belgium was occupied and they returned to Antwerp. Théo went to school at the Jewish school Tachkemoni in Antwerp. At the age of ten, Théo witnessed the Antwerp pogrom on Easter Monday 1941, during which Jewish shop windows were smashed, and two synagogues were set on fire. He saw sacred books and furniture being thrown from the windows of the synagogues and set ablaze. The smell of that day would stay with him forever. In June 1942, Théo was forced to wear the yellow Star of David and narrowly escaped a Nazi roundup. A month later, his father was conscripted by the German Todt organization to work in a quarry in Merlemont, Wallonia, where Jewish labourers were treated as slaves. The family initially lived in barracks, but later his father managed to rent a house. Théo and his six-year-old brother, Maurice, spent a few carefree days there, making friends in the village. However, on 31 January 1943, villagers warned them that the Gestapo was approaching. Théo’s mother quickly said goodbye, and in her grave tone, Théo, who was almost eleven, understood the danger ahead. From that moment, he had to grow up quickly, adopting the false name Théo Legrand. It was the last time he saw his mother, who was just 35 years old. A young woman from the resistance helped him hide in the forest until nightfall, after which she took him by train to Namur, where Gestapo got on as well keeping Théo uneasy. Meanwhile, his parents hid in the attic of a local farmer Piet for the next six weeks. Around 20 March, believing it was safe, his mother ventured out to prepare a hot meal in the village canteen, like other Jewish women. However, a member of the pro-Nazi Rex organization noticed and reported her to the Gestapo. She, along with two other women, was arrested and taken to Charleroi prison, before being transferred to the SS Sammellager in the Dossin barracks in Mechelen. On 19 April 1943, she was deported with Transport XX. Though some managed to jump from the train, Théo’s mother did not as she got scared from the gunshots. She arrived in Auschwitz-Birkenau three days later, where she was selected for forced labour but did not survive. It would take Théo many years to come to terms with her death. Théo survived thanks to a network that included support from the Bishop of Namur (and the bishop’s cousin in La Roche) and help in Charleroi. Théo had to do his Bar Mitswa in the absence of his family, without his dad and little brother. He moved between several hiding places, spending the longest time in the orphanage of Saint-Joseph in Gilly, where he was later joined by his younger brother. The orphanage, however, was a grim place. The children were frequently punished by the nuns and lived in harsh conditions, with little food and freezing temperatures. Children who wet their beds were publicly humiliated, and the overall environment was one of suffering. Théo endured fifteen months in this institution, which he described as the pinnacle of misery and humiliation. Eventually, he and his brother were moved as the Germans began to suspect that Jewish children were being hidden there. Théo’s father survived the war by finding hiding places near Charleroi, but Théo never saw his mother again. Of her family, only one sister survived out of 96 relatives. Upon his return to Antwerp, Théo kept coming back to Tachkemoni, which served as a shelter for those returning from the camps, to see if his mother came back yet. After the war, his father married a Jewish surviving widow (whom he had met in Charleroi). She also had a son, so they lived with two adults and three boys in the house. In addition, Arthur Langerman lived at their house with his mother for a while. Arthur's mother Zysla Blajwas married a brother of his father Salomon Langerman (their son is also called Theodore Korenblum). After the war, when Théo wanted to ask questions about what had happened, he was told that the nightmare was over and that it was no longer something to discuss.

On 18 September 2024, Théodore (Théo) Kornblum participated in recording his testimony with Veerle Vanden Daelen and Jarno Maertens of Kazerne Dossin. On 5 October 2024, Théodore (Théo) Kornblum permitted Kazerne Dossin to digitize 10 photos in this collection. On 5 November 2024, Théodore (Théo) Kornblum donated one other photo in this collection.

Théodore (Théo) Kornblum, 2024