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:
In the night of April 19-20 at 2 AM the Belgian partisans Romain Baplu, Albert Poncelet, Pieter Schepers (and M. Swinnen)* – operating in the Leuven Partisans group – attacked Transport XX just outside Leuven by building a barricade of tree trunks on the track at Korbeek-Lo, that slowed down the 20th Convoy of 1631 Jews in cattle cars, being deported from the Dossin barracks transit camp in Mechelen to Auschwitz , and thus helped many of the deportees to escape, jumping from the death train, between Korbeek-Lo and Tienen. That was the 2nd attack that night. Earlier , a first attack was performed before Leuven between Boortmeerbeek and Haacht by the three young Brussels’ heroes Youra Livschitz (Dr. Georges Livschitz ; aka Livchitz), Robert Maistriau, and Jean Franklemon, who liberated 17 people during an attack by opening one of the cattle cars.
Romain Baplu from Louvain (Leuven, Belgium) and Youra Livschitz (Dr. Georges Livschitz ; aka Livchitz) from Brussels were both reported on a list of hostages shot , published in the April 15, 1944 bulletin of News From Belgium : … “A List of Hostages Shot — The names of 15 hostages executed in Brussels after the murder of a German soldier have been published: Victor Jacobs, of Louvain; Michel Stockmans, of Hougaerde; Edmond Vertongen, of Linden; Désiré Regent, of Kessel-Loo; Julien Ameye, of Lans (France); Henri Michaux , of Herseaux; Maurice Knarren, of Brussels; Romain Baplu, of Louvain; Louis Dewolf, of Louvain; Désiré Lasterman, of Wesmael; Pierre Renis and Jean Simon, of Louvain; Léon Magne, of Nivelles; Joseph Nejszaten, of Sciepe; Albert Meurice, of St-Gilles, Brussels… … Eight patriots whose names follow were recently shot down by the Germans in occupied Belgium: Albert Romain, of Bièvres; Henry Albert, of Haut-Fays; and Dr. Georges Livchitz, René Lachaud, René Brams, Richard Lipper, Jean-Auguste Leyniers, and René Joseph Emile Denauw, all of Brussels.” News From Belgium Vol. IV, No. 15, April 15, 1944 | Belgian Information Center, New York (USA) | Harvard Law School Library | Digitized by Google. Film License info : Romain Baplu & Youra Livschitz • News From Belgium | 20230407 | Miracles•Media | TakeNode bb8fc1fd-444f-4bba-aecb-1d439b5bdb3e
20240420 : changed Nicolas Poncelet to Albert Poncelet (based on several sources )
*20240420 : changed Marcel Swinnen to M. Swinnen (both Marcel or Maurice Swinnen … retrieved from Huis van het Belgisch Franse Verzet (Facebook, various dates).
*20240420 : Marcel Hollanders also mentioned at site Huis van het Belgisch Franse Verzet (20240419)
Video report of the preview 19 Jan 2023 presented by photographer Jo Struyven of photo exhibition ‘236 — Land(es)capes from the 20th Convoy’. Photo exhibition of works by Jo Struyven and Luc Tuymans in the Jewish Museum of Belgium, Brussels, Belgium | January 20 – August 14, 2023. License info : 236 Land(es)capes 20th convoy | 20230126 | Michel van der Burg | Miracles•Media | TakeNode 428839bb-7165-4771-a490-27158928ec25
On April 19, 1943, the 20th transport left the Mechelen transit camp to deport 1,631 Jews to Auschwitz. Thanks to resistance actions, both inside and outside the wagons, 236 of these deportees managed to jump from the train that would lead them to destruction.
Photographer Jo Struyven revisits this unique act of resistance in Western Europe during the Nazi regime and shows us the landscapes in which this little-known story took place.
From 20 January 2023, the Jewish Museum of Belgium, in partnership with the Auschwitz Foundation, presents the exhibition entitled ‘236, Land(es)capes from the 20th Convoy’. It is set up in the museum’s project space and offers an artistic look at an exceptional and forgotten event in the Second World War.
The 20th convoy
At 10 p.m. on April 19, 1943, the 20th convoy departed from the Kazerne Dossin transit camp in Mechelen with 1,631 Jewish deportees in cattle cars, heading for Auschwitz. Thanks to resistance actions, both inside the wagons and from outside, 236 of these deportees managed to jump from that train, that was leading them to extermination. An unique event in Europe under the Nazi administration.
Jo Struyven, photographer
The work of the Belgian photographer Jo Struyven (°Sint-Truiden, 1961) takes us back to these acts of resistance – commemorating the 80th anniversary in 2023 – and gives us a glimpse of the landscapes in which this striking story took place. Taking the perspective of those who jumped off that train, an act for which many of them paid with their lives, Struyven creates a contemporary ‘memorial’ with 19 large ‘nocturnal’ black and white images, and one colour print.
Jo Struyven :
The 20th convoy, heading for the unspeakable “Auschwitz”, crossed the area where I grew up, barely 50 meters from my childhood bedroom — I found out 2 years ago after meeting Simon Gronowski. Ever since, I imagine the distress of the deportees. The destination was unknown to them. Some, sensing the worst, tried to escape it. I wanted to give an account of this border between life and death, between resignation and the impossibility of choosing, and the freedom regained with resistance to the oppressor’s plans.
Works presented by Jo Struyven
Land(es)capes from the 20th Convoy, 2020-2022, 19 black and white prints, 1 color print, 90×60 cm (Private collection – Belgium)
Jo Struyven, Land(es)capes from the 20th convoy 2020-2022, black and white print, 90x 60 cm, Wijchmaal (Private Collection, Belgium)Jo Struyven, Land(es)capes from the 20th Convoy 2020-2022, black and white print, 90x 60 cm, Bierbeek (Private Collection, Belgium)Jo Struyven, Land(es)capes from the 20th Convoy 2020-2022, black and white print, 90x 60 cm, Borgloon (Private Collection, Belgium)Jo Struyven, Land(es)capes from the 20th Convoy 2020-2022, black and white print, 90x 60 cm, Piringen (Private Collection, Belgium)Jo Struyven, Land(es)capes from the 20th Convoy 2020-2022, black and white print, 90x 60 cm, Botzelaer (Private Collection, Belgium)
Luc Tuymans, visual artist
In dialogue with Jo Struyven’s photographs, two works by Belgian visual artist Luc Tuymans (°Mortsel, 1958) evoke the destruction of the Jews and Roma of Europe. Die Wiedergutmachung (The Reparation) depicts body parts – left the eyes of gypsy children who had been experimented on by the Nazis. … images that in its incompleteness, reflect the inability to represent facts and memory .
Works presented by Luc Tuymans
Luc Tuymans, Our New Quarters, 1986, Oil on canvas, 80,5 x 120 cm (MMK – Germany) (Photo Ben Blackwell, courtesy David Zwirner, New York, London)Luc Tuymans, Die Wiedergutmachung, 1989, Oil on cardboard, mounted on plywood, Oil on canvas; diptych, 36,6 x 43 cm, 39,4 x 51,8 cm, courtesy: Private collection (Photo Studio Luc Tuymans)
Art after the Shoah
“Writing a poem after Auschwitz is barbaric”, wrote German philosopher Theodor W. Adorno in 1949. Through two contemporary perspectives from the visual arts, this exhibition seeks to address this question of the (im)possibility of art after the Shoah in a new way.
Testimonies & Catalogue
This exhibition will be accompanied by a catalogue book edited by Daniel Weyssow and Jo Struyven and published by the Auschwitz Foundation entitled Land(es)capes from the 20th Convoy (press release on April 19, 2023), as well as an educational space presenting the testimonies from interviews and archives of convoy escapees.
Info+ ( & Français | Nederlands)
236 Land(es)capes from the 20th Convoy Jo Struyven / Luc Tuymans Exhibition at the Jewish Museum of Belgium, in Brussels, Belgium 20 January – 14 August 2023 Brussels Website https://www.mjb-jmb.org
Video report : Vernissage ‘236’ Land(es)capes 20th convoy
Thursday January 19th, 2023, the vernissage of the photo exhibition 236 — Land(es)capes from the 20th Convoy was opened with speeches by Philippe Blondin, President of the Jewish Museum, and by Pierre-Yves Jeholet , Minister-President of the Government of the Federation Wallonia-Brussels. Next, the Belgian photographer Jo Struyven presented his work — escape landscape photographs glowing in the dark — like being lit by moonlight — as well as paintings contributed by Luc Tuymans in the project space. The exhibition runs from January 20 – August 14, 2023 in the Jewish Museum of Belgium, Brussels, Belgium. Video report (20230120) Michel van der Burg | Miracles•Media .
Jan 20, 2023 – VRT | Kristien Bonneure (Belgian Flemish Broadcast) 20 jan 2023
Photographer Jo Struyven presents a preview of his work last night , Thursday January 19th, 2023 at the vernissage of 236 — Land(es)capes from the 20th Convoy , an exhibition of works by Jo Struyven and Luc Tuymans in the Jewish Museum of Belgium, Brussels, Belgium, open from today for the public January 20 – August 14, 2023.
On April 19, 1943, the 20th transport left the Mechelen transit camp to deport 1,631 Jews to Auschwitz. Thanks to resistance actions, both inside and outside the wagons, 236 of these deportees managed to jump from the train that would lead them to destruction.
Photographer Jo Struyven revisits this unique act of resistance in Western Europe during the Nazi regime and shows us the landscapes in which this little-known story took place.
The vernissage was opened by Philippe Blondin, President of the Jewish Museum, and by Pierre-Yves Jeholet , Minister-President of the Government of the Federation Wallonia-Brussels.
Follow-up post tomorrow 20230121.
License info : Vernissage ‘236’ Land(es)capes 20th convoy | 20230120 | Michel van der Burg | Miracles•Media | TakeNode 5e71633a-0ff2-44bf-99dc-34f3db25bb26
Simon Stompin’ at the Saint Sépulcre | 20221119 | Miracles•Media | Rushes with a rough cut for Miracles film – vibrant memories – not forgotten – that vibrant testimony , swinging jazz of Simon Gronowski Stompin’ at the Saint-Sépulcre school in Liège (BE).
Thanks to friends Philippe Renette, Simon Gronowski, Koenraad Tinel (Photo Dieter Telemans featured in Der Welt , Saturday 16th Nov 2013 – Feinde wie wir, by Felix Stephan) and help by Patrick (sound), staff Marc Belleflamme, André Hérin, teachers Christine Marchal, Ingrid Lothe, others, and the Saint-Sépulcre students participating that 19 november 2013 , today 9 years ago, during this unique human adventure. They hosted 3 sessions that day. Time to share … waiting for the film is taking long … here rushes with a rough cut ..enjoy! Filmed by Michel van der Burg at the Station Luik-Guillemins – Liège-Guillemins, in Luik, and Institut Saint-Sépulcre , Liège (BE), 19 november 2013. License info: Simon Stompin’ at the Saint Sépulcre | 20221119 | Michel van der Burg | Miracles•Media | @michelvanderburg | TakeNode ID: 94510c1e-1ae4-42a3-9467-251dafd4c9ad
November 11, 2022 — Viviane’s Story by Viviane Yarom-Castegnier & Michel van der Burg was first published by Miracles.Media the night of April 19, 2019 as eBook (ePub) including video with a file size of 200 MB.
Now, the 2nd print of this eBook (ePub) is released – with the much smaller size of 60 MB ( same ISBN 9789493147003 ). In addition now a PDF edition of the eBook is released with ISBN 9789493147010 .
You can download both these new eBooks of Viviane’s Story from the site Miracles.Media — both the ePUB (ISBN 978-94-93147-00-3) and PDF (ISBN 978-94-93147-01-0) editions. Link https://miracles.media/vivianesstory/
Viviane's Story
Escape from Transport XX...Born 6 Months Later
by
Viviane Yarom-Castegnier & Michel van der Burg
On the night of the 19th of April in 1943 – Viviane escaped in the womb of her pregnant mother from the Twentieth Train heading for Auschwitz. Isabella Weinreb-Castegnier was three-months pregnant when she jumped that night in Belgium from the fast moving 20th Death Train to Auschwitz. It was Passover eve and full moon.
Isabella escaped with a broken wrist and bruises all over her body, but no other major injuries. Her daughter Viviane – meaning “full of life”, and named so for her will to live and hold tight in her mother’s womb – was born six months later on October 30, 1943 in Brussels, Belgium.
This e-booklet presents Viviane’s story with amazing new insights discovered together with the Dutch-Belgian author-reporter Simone Korkus of the man that helped Isabella jump to freedom – Elias Gnazik.
Published April 19, 2019 by Miracles•Media together with co-publisher Richard Bloom Productions — With a foreword by Simone Korkus — ISBN 9789493147003
