Smeers Philomène

Smeers, Philomène (Mother Marie-Véronique) Mother Marie-Véronique (née Philomène Smeers) served as Mother Superior of the Sacred Heart of Mary convent in La Hulpe, Belgium from 1929 until 1951. In May 1940, the Germans invaded Belgium, and in the summer of 1942, they began to deport Jews to the extermination camps. During the German occupation, Mother Marie-Véronique sheltered Jewish girls in her convent, rescuing them from certain death. Simone Suzanne Berman (née Najman) was born in Brussels in 1931. In 1942, when the deportations began, the Najman family went into hiding. After a year, Simone's parents decided to ask the nuns to shelter their daughter in the Sacred Heart of Mary convent. Simone's father remained in hiding during the war, but her mother died on January 1, 1944. After liberation, Simone immigrated to the United States. Simone Berman shared her memories of Mother Superior Marie-Véronique with Yad Vashem. "She assigned a fictitious name to each child. Each one of us understood that our collective safety was only as certain as our success in playing our role every minute of the day. One of the many "keys" to the plan's success was that we did not know which of the students shared our secret status. We did not know one another, and thus avoided becoming an identifiable group within the school. Mother Superior Marie-Véronique was indeed the "General" in charge of everything. She understood the hardship facing us, these Jewish children hidden under her wing. We had no contact with our parents or any family member. We had no idea whether we would ever see them again. Friendships with other students were particularly dangerous. How could one be a friend while being unable to divulge your true identity, where your parents lived, or how many brothers, sisters and cousins you had? Why was it that we never visited our families, and why didn't we have visitors? All details of our lives had to be avoided, yet some of us were as young as fiveyears old. But we did it." Mother Marie-Véronique assured not only the physical survival of her wards, but also made sure to give them moral support. Whenever a Jewish girl had problems, she would assign one of the sisters to visit her in the evening. Thus when Simone's mother died, Sister Marie-Paul would come every evening when Simone was lying alone in her bed, and spend time with her. Ilse Frumer (née Steiner) was born in Vienna in 1929, and moved to Brussels with her parents. After Ilse's father was deported to Auschwitz in January 1942, her mother asked Mother Marie-Véronique to accept her daughter into the convent's school. Ilse's mother was also murdered during the Holocaust, and Ilse remained at the convent until 1950, when she was 21 years old. Conditions during the war were very difficult. During the winter, the nuns chopped down trees from their garden in order to heat the living quarters. Although food was scarce, they shared what little they had with the girls under their care. On December 21, 2010, Yad Vashem recognized Mother Marie-Véronique as Righteous Among the Nations. On November 3, 2011 a ceremony was held at Yad Vashem in honor of Mother Marie-Véronique. Sister Marie-Justine, who had lived at the convent during the period of rescue, and Sister Paule, the present-day Mother Superior of the convent, accepted the medal and certificate of honor on behalf of the late Mother Superior. Simone Berman and Ilse Frumer were unable to attend the ceremony, but sent messages. "Today we remember Mother Marie Véronique," wrote Simone Berman. "She risked her life to save the lives of others. At a time when the forces of evil became inexorable, she believed and proved that one person could make a difference. I, with many, many others, thank her not only for saving our lives, but also for her care, for offering an environment of excellent education, and for providing a sense of normality that allowed us to face the outside world with a smileand a belief in a future in which we could once again be free to be ourselves."