After starting working together online from 2014 on the documentary Viviane’s Story (see e-book on Miracles.Media) now a live meetup in Brussels with Viviane, April 17th 2023, near the Church of Saint Catherine, for several commemoration events on Transport XX to Auschwitz, the deportation train leaving Mechelen 80 years ago, the unique attack, other resistance acts, the rescue, and escapes of over 200 people jumping from that deportation train in the night of April 19th-20th in 1943 – including Isabella Weinreb, pregnant 3 months with Viviane , who was born 6 months later.
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Eight drawings by Jim (Haïm) Kaliski, 1995-1999, indian ink on paper. Filmed April 19, 2023 in the Jewish Museum of Belgium, in Brussels, at the exhibition ‘236 – Land(es)capes from the 20th convoy’. 1) Pogrom Antwerp, 14 April 1941
2) The Summons for Mechelen “The Trap”
3) Mechelen Waiting Room of Death , 1942-1944
4) The Time of Darkness, 1942-1944
5) Razzia Rue Bara , Anderlecht (Brussels), 3 Sep 1942
6) Attack 20th Convoy, 19 April 1943
7) At the road ‘Chaussée d’Etterbeek’ (Brussels), Feb. 1944
8) Haïm from Etterbeek, Mar 1944
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Youra (Georges) Livschitz (1917-1944) pastel portrait, Brussels ca. 1933. Youra together with Robert Maistriau and Jean Franklemon, attacked the 20th convoy on 19 April 1943, freeing 17 deportees, a unique event in occupied Europe. Filmed April 19, 2023 in the Jewish Museum of Belgium, in Brussels, at the exhibition ‘236 – Land(es)capes from the 20th convoy’ (Invent 03399).
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Lanterns ceremony today Sunday April 23, 2023, in Boortmeerbeek following a bike ride from Brussels , honoring Youra Livschitz, Robert Maistriau, and Jean Franklemon, who 80 years ago – the night of April 19th 1943 – came on bike from Brussels to Boortmeerbeek to attack and stop with a lantern the deportation train ‘Transport XX’ heading for Auschwitz, and liberate Jewish prisoners from one of the cattle cars.
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Nationale Bibliotheek Bulletin – Viviane’s story | 20230421 | Miracles•Media
Nationale Bibliotheek bulletin 4-5 May 2023 in the Netherlands : Boeken over de Tweede Wereldoorlog ~ Verschenen in Nederland in 2022 en 2023.
National Library (Royal Library) Netherlands : Books about the Second World War | Published in the Netherlands in 2022 and 2023.) Royal Library Netherlands
PDF – Page 11 Viviane’s story : escape from transport XX…born 6 month’s later Viviane Yarom-Castegnier (1943-) (ISNI 0000 0005 0884 2840) | Miracles.Media | ISBN: 978-94-93147-00-3
Download e-Book (ePub with films, and PDF with images only) available both via Nationale Bibliotheek (kb.nl) and via Miracles.Media.
Today 80 years ago, Isabella Weinreb was three months pregnant with Viviane , when she jumped in the night of 19-20 April 1943, around 2AM from the 20th deportation train – Transport XX – from Mechelen direction Auschwitz.
Isabella escaped with a broken wrist , and knocked on the door of this St. Kamillus institute in Bierbeek, where she was helped further on her escape route back home in Brussels. Viviane was born 6 months later at in Brussels.
Viviane, who is now living in the USA, returned this week – on Holocaust Remembrance Day – to the place her mother escaped and saved both their lives, together with photographer Jo Struyven , author Nathalie Strubbe, and documentary filmmaker Michel van der Burg. During the St. Kamillus visit , reporter Tom de Leur made with photographer Dirk Vertommen an interview published April 19, 2023 in the flemish Belgian newspaper Nieuwsblad – https://m.nieuwsblad.be/cnt/dmf20230418_97055388 – “Vivianes moeder was zwanger van haar toen ze van de trein sprong die haar naar de gaskamers moest leiden”
Yesterday, April 19, 2023 , Viviane Yarom told her story of the escape from Transport XX, at the Study Day on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the 20th convoy presented by the Jewish Museum of Belgium and The Auschwitz Foundation in the Jewish Museum of Belgium, in Brussels.
In the Jewish Museum of Belgium , the exhibition ‘236 – Land(es)capes from the 20th convoy’ by Jo Struyven and Luc Tuymans, runs until Mon 14 August.
April 19th also the catalog book by Jo Struyven and Daniel Weyssow (Auschwitz Foundation) was published , which includes dutch and french editions of “Escape from Transport XX…born 6 months later” translated from the original english text of a chapter in the ebook published April 19, 2019 : Viviane Yarom-Castegnier & Michel van der Burg. ‘Viviane’s Story: Escape from Transport XX… Born 6 Months Later’. Download available via Miracles.Media – https://miracles.media/vivianesstory/.
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Robert’s shirt with sewn up bullet holes | 20230409 | Miracles•Media | Shirt the 14 year old Robert was wearing when shot in his chest as he jumped April 19, 1943 from the 20th convoy – together with his parents Bertha and Eddy Rottenberg. Detail of the neatly sewn up bullet holes is shown in the bottom-right image. Photo’s taken Nov. 19, 2012 by Audrey Rogers Furfaro and edited by Michel van der Burg (michelvanderburg.com).
Update — A Story of Transport XX – April 19, 1943 – by Audrey Rogers Furfaro | 20230409 | Miracles•Media | Story originally told April 2008 by Audrey Rogers Furfaro, and next posted Nov 2012 at michelvanderburg•com illustrated with the shirt the 14 year old Robert was wearing when shot in his chest as he jumped April 19, 1943 from the 20th convoy – together with his parents Bertha and Eddy Rottenberg.
Story now updated – with a portrait of Bobby and his parents in Bruxelles, 1941.
A new finding – published at the current 236 exhibition in Brussels – is the location were the family escaped – they were numbers 722, 723, and 724. The Rottenberg family jumped close to Houppertingen, just before the site Simon Gronowski jumped, before Borgloon. That map is showing in a recent video of the vernisage of the ‘236’ project:
