Henin Henri & Marie-Madeleine (Quertinmont)

Henin, Henri Henin, Marie-Madeleine (Quertinmont) Gershon Lehrer (b. 1902) and Liebe Dorf (b. 1900) were both born in Poland, where they married. They immigrated to the German city of Dresden, where their three children—Bruno (b. 1924), Ernst (b. 1925), and Ruth (b. 1927)—were born. When the Nazis came to power in Germany, the Lehrer family felt the danger and moved to Belgium, where they settled in Antwerp. Gershon started working in the diamond business, but the family was not safe in Belgium either, and when in 1940 Belgium was occupied by the Nazis, Gershon, Liebe, and the children tried to flee to France. They did not make it in time and only reached La Panne, from where they had no choice other than to return to their home in Antwerp. Antwerp was a large city with a large Jewish community. From the beginning of the German occupation of Belgium, Gershon and Liebe understood the danger of their presence in such a Jewish area, and they decided to move to Profondeville, a quiet place in the Walloon region of Belgium. They registered at the local municipality and lived a relatively calm life. Bruno and Ernst lived in a boarding school in Charleroi during the week, and Ruth traveled to her school in Namur every day. Every Monday Gershon traveled to his diamond business in Antwerp, but he returned home for the weekends, just like the boys. In 1942 the persecution of the Jews intensified. Bruno and Ernst had been called for forced labor in the dolomite mines, where fortunately, their boss was friendly. Gershon stopped working in his business in Antwerp because the Germans had confiscated his company, and the weekly journeys had become too dangerous. Gershon sent a message to Bruno and Ernst’s boss, who agreed to release the boys in November 1942. The moment had come to go into hiding. The Lehrer family received a lot of help from Henri Henin (b. 1911), who was the secretary at the local municipality of Jambes. Henri was very active in the resistance movement, together with, among others, Abbé André (recognized by Yad Vashem as Righteous Among the Nations in 1968) and Fernand Arnould (recognized as Righteous in 1972). Henri helped the Lehrer family to go into hiding. At first he and his wife, Marie-Madeleine (née Quertinmont, b. 1910), hid them in their own home. After that the Lehrers were transferred to Marie-Madeleine’s parents, and later to Henri’s brother-in-law. Henri also provided the family with false identification papers. Others were also helped by Henri Henin: Benzion Seewald (b. 1914), Marcus Dorf (Liebe Lehrer’s brother) and his family, and Mozes Dorf and his mother, Sara Dorf. Toward the end of the war, Henri was arrested by the Germans, but he survived his imprisonment and the war. After the liberation the friendly relations between the Henin couple and many of the Jews they had helped remained. On November 10, 2015, Yad Vashem recognized Henri and Marie-Madeleine (Quertinmont) Henin as Righteous Among the Nations.