André Joseph

André, Abbé Joseph Joseph André was born in 1908, in Jambes (Namur district). In 1936, he was ordained a priest in the Catholic Church, and from 1941 until 1957 he served as deputy priest of the de St. Jean-Baptiste parish, in Namur/Namen. While there, he met Arthur Burak, a Jewish lawyer who had fled with his family from Nazi Germany in 1933. In the summer of 1942, when deportations from Belgium started, André arranged a hiding place for Burak, and took his two sons to his father’s home in Jambes, adjacent to Namur. In the following years, André extended his help to many other Jews. During the war years, André established an aid network, involving mostly children, in coordination with the underground. The center of his activity was in the Home de l’Ange community center, which was located next door to a German administrative building. From mid-1942 onwards, several hundred Jewish children passed through the Home de l’Ange on their way to more permanent locations. Some stayed for extended periods but most used it as a way station from where they were moved to monasteries or private homes in the district or in the Luxembourg region. In December 1943, there were 35 Jewish children hidden there, aged eight to twelve. The older children, aged fifteen to seventeen, generally found work and lodging with local families. Life for those hidden in Home de l’Ange was very repetitive, as one of those that stayed there later recalled: “Every day there were ten, 20, or even 30 children and adults in the building. We woke up in the morning, made our beds, helped with the kitchen work, and then just waited until the day ended and for the next one to begin. We waited for the end of the war, which always seemed on the horizon… We relied on Father André very much.” When the Germans carried out a search of the building, which happened on several occasions, the children had a way of escaping to the building behind. In most instances, the searches passed without incidents but onseveral occasions, Jewish persons were arrested in the building or in nearby homes. The situation worsened in May 1944 and at this point it became necessary to disperse the remaining children. André himself went underground, finding a hiding place in Moorsel. Father André also arranged sheltering places for Jewish adults, as well as employment in private homes or on farms, under assumed names. The municipal clerks and local council members assisted him by providing his wards with false identity papers as well as food coupons. From 1943, André began to work with the clandestine CDJ, although he never officially joined the organization. After the war, CDJ records revealed that André arranged shelter for 66 people from this underground group. Throughout his charitable work, André declined financial assistance from the CDJ, since he feared that disclosing the whereabouts of the children to the CDJ would compromise the secrecy of his work. In addition, some children were placed into his care directly by the parents, without the intercession of the CDJ, and André preferred to keep the names of these children to himself, for reasons of security. To cover the large expenses, André mainly relied on donations from relatives and friends, as well as monthly stipends from the Socrates underground association. Monsignor Charue, the archbishop of Namur, who knew of André’s activities, also afforded him financial assistance. The organization L’Aide Chrétienne aux Israélites (ACI), which was nicknamed “Father André’s Group,” was organized loosely with no fixed hierarchy. It included people who gathered to assist Father André in his work on behalf of Jewish children. It is estimated that this group is credited with helping some 250 children to find hiding places. Father Bruno Reynders* also belonged to this group, which later joined forces with the lawyer Albert Van den Berg* from Liège. Father Jan Bruylants*, who served as deputy priest in Cureghem, was also involved with the ACIactivities. After the liberation in September 1944, the Home de l’Ange again became a transit center; this time in the effort to return the children to their families who came to fetch them. On Passover eve in 1945, about 200 Jews celebrated their rescue in the Rue de l’Ange center, with Father André sitting at the table surrounded by people that had grown to love him. That was the first time since the beginning of the war that the Jews celebrated this Festival of Freedom as liberated citizens. For the rest of his life (he died in 1973), Father André was active with the Jewish community, participating in lectures and conferences on Judaism, which were held every year in Antwerp under the auspices of the Women’s International Zionist Organization (WIZO). On November 26, 1968, Yad Vashem recognized Abbé Joseph André as Righteous Among the Nations.