We got out... and we survived.

Shocking confession of a deported who escaped from the death train

Simon Gronowski, the son of a Belgian jew comunities' family, didn't get to know Auschwit , !ecause, in the spring of "#$%, he was one of the hundred deported person who managed to escape from &the train of death&, !efore it could get them to the concentration camp, Auschwit .

He was only 11 years old when, on March 17, 1943, the Nazis seized and threw him in one of Gestapo's cellars in Br !elles, then in the "ossin #arac$ from Maniles, the ne!t mo%e #ein& his deportin& to ' schwitz( )' month later, on 'pril 19, 1943,) says *imon Gronows$i, )they p t me in a cattle car, #o nd for ' schwitz() +he #oy mana&ed to , mp from the train that was tra%elin& at f ll speed, to&ether with another 1- deported Bel&ians( His mother and his sister did not ha%e time to do the same, says "er *pie&el, . oted #y *late( )/t too$ me 01 years,) says Gronows$i, )to tell the drama of my childhood in the #oo$ '*imon, 2'efant d -1e con%oi' 3*imon, the $id from the -1 th con%oy 45d(6) si&ned #y 7rancois 8irrat and *imon Gronows$i, p #lished in -113( 7ollowin& the storyline, *imon recall, )+he train stopped and the & ards were yellin& and shootin& in

o r direction( My mother co ldn't , mp, she was to wea$( My first tho &ht was to r n to her( B t, actin& from an nconscio s refle!, / slipped to the left and ran as fast as / co ld( / wal$ed contin o sly the whole ni&ht thro &h the woods( N mero s escapes forced Nazis to desi&ned for passen&er, with windows( se rather wa&ons desi&ned for cattles and &oods than those

" rin& each stop in stations, wa&ons were #ein& caref lly inspected from the o tside, to pre%ent any attempt of sa#ota&e( /n case of an escape, the & ards had orders to shoot immediately(

/nside the )train of death), deported people often faced do #t( Many he#rew people pre%ented others to escape #eca se they )considered escapin& an irresponsi#le act, preferrin& rather to wor$ than ris$ their li%es,) says the a thor( *imon Gronows$i was l c$y to meet a Bel&ian policeman, who #oarded him on a train #o nd for Br !elles, so that he co ld ret rn to his father( Now, at the a&e of 91, lawyer Gronows$i is the president of He#rew "eportees from Bel&i m( Him testimony appears in a st dy of the historian +an,a 7ransec$y, which was p #lished :n March -4, in German, as the first doc mentary a#o t the escapes from the death trains( )+he r nnin& has prod ced a &reat dilemma for many of s #eca se we were lea%in& o r relati%es #ehind( +herefore, many s r%i%ors ha%e #een silent for decades after the war a#o t this fact,) says Gronows$i( He himself ha%e #een silent for almost 01 years( His mother and sister died in the &as cham#ers from ' schwitz, and his father died shortly after the war, in 194;( Gronows$i wanted to &o on, to #ecome a lawyed( He played piano, was passionated a#o t ,azz and didn't want to tal$ a#o t war(

<ecently, he f llfiled an old dream of his = he played piano with >oody 'llen and his ,azz #and( +he latter, after readin& his story, in%ited him to New ?or$ and wished to see it 3his story6 p #lished in an article de%oted to Holoca st s r%i%ors in a >all *treet @o rnal(