Rosalie, Wolf’s cousin, the daughter of Leopold and Sara and named after Wolf’s aunt, was the first to emigrate to Belgium on 12 September 1938 where she settled in Brussels with her son Fritz and took in her nephew Alexander (Max’s son). Two of her brothers followed soon after. Walter, born in 1890, married a non-Jewish woman, Henny in 1920 in Hamburg and they had a daughter Gisela. Although in a so-called ‘privileged marriage’, once Hitler came to power, their lives got harder and they wanted to leave.

Gisela was not allowed to go to grammar school. Walter’s work as a commercial salesman dried up. Then come unexpected help. Walter had a son before his marriage to Henry who was adopted. This son Walter Neumann wanted to marry but to do so had to prove his Aryan descent. He found his father and learned that he was half Jewish. They got on well and he offered to help his father. It was agreed that Walter Nelki would cross the Dutch border illegally while Walter Neumann took Henny and Gisela to Henny’s parents in Lubeck. Walter Nelki was stopped at the border but instead of going back, he dived into the Maas river and swam southwards until he reached Belgium He made his way to the Jewish community in Antwerp and was looked after there. Meanwhile Henny and Gisela applied for a passport to Belgium, ostensibly to go to a wedding. As they were Aryan, it was granted.

The family was reunited in Antwerp but never got the yellow card permitting them to work. Brother Hans with his non-Jewish wife Grete and their 8 year old daughter followed them to Belgium in Oct 1938. Hans had studied law but like my father Wolf was never allowed as a Jew to work. They crossed the border illegally having paid for help and met the relatives in Antwerp.

Hitler invaded Belgium in May 1940 and in 1941 attempted to make Antwerp ‘judenfrei’. All the Jews were mobilised to go East for forced labour and the wives went too. While travelling through Limburg, the train stopped and all 200 passengers were ordered out and told to find their own accommodation. They were later told that the Queen Mother of Belgium (Elizabeth of Bavaria) had personally intervened with the German military government and arranged for the families to stay in Belgium. Local families offered their home and became lifelong friends.