Host Francois

Host, François In February 1942, François Host was arrested by the Germans on the charge of underground activities, and was released in September of the same year. That same month, he was asked by his underground contacts to look after Jewish persons who had been hidden in La Louvière. The hidden persons included Jacques Kleiman from Brussels, the Dessau family, four members of the Mandelbaum family, and the brothers Maurice and Jacques Edelman, as well as their wives and children, also from Brussels. A short while later, it was necessary to find alternative hiding addresses for these people. The only exception was Fernanda, the baby daughter of Maurice and Krajndla Edelman, who remained in the original hiding place in La Louvière, until the end of the war. The others were dispersed to other places. Five-year-old Dora Edelman was placed with a family in Morlanwelz, but could not remain there because her mother endangered everybody by visiting her daughter too often. François Host then placed Dora in a convent, in Viane- Moerbeke, near Grammont (Eastern Flanders)". During all these peregrinations, François Host functioned as the refugees’ moral and physical support. According to his testimony, he could not remain inactive while innocent people were being terribly mistreated. On July 6, 1981, Yad Vashem recognized François Host as Righteous Among the Nations.