Duysenx Paul & Jeanne (Jeune le)

Duysenx, Paul Duysenx-Le Jeune, Jeanne Paul and Jeanne Duysenx lived in Brussels, together with their daughter, Marie Thérèse, a journalist with La Defense Sociale. When Marie-Thérèse learned in 1942, that the nineteen-year old, Benjamin Helman, whom she knew, was in need of an immediate place to hide, she contacted her parents, and they agreed to take him in for some days, knowing that he was Jewish. The few days eventually stretched into two and a half years. Benjamin’s parents, Josef and Channa (née Kubovski) and his five-year old sister Gitta, who were hidden with a family who had a change of mind and forced them to leave, were deported and murdered in a concentration camp. Benjamin’s eldest sister, Gdula, who was hidden somewhere else was saved. While with the Duysenxes, Benjamin, equipped with a false identification card,, first worked as a dentist’s assistant. But, when stepping out proved too risky, Benjamin stayed mostly indoors, and spent his time in the back of the store that Paul owned. Paul was a graphic artist whose expertise was in restoration and he dealt in antique drawings. He was well known in Brussels and even some Gestapo officers were among his clientele. Benjamin would help in the store and serve the Nazis, who often pressed for a “good deal” but in effect blackmailed their way to a bargain price. Towards the end of 1943, when the Gestapo intensified its search for Jews, and it became too dangerous to go out at all, Benjamin stayed hidden all the time. Benjamin and his hosts became very close; he referred to Paul Duysenx as “Papa Paul” and was indeed treated like a son. There were no financial arrangements and no special aid was requested of Benjamin. Food was shared by all equally. After the war, relations remained close, even when Benjamin moved to Israel. On May 24, 1977, Yad Vashem recognized Paul Duysenx and Jeanne Duysenx-Le Jeune, as Righteous Among the Nations.