First Marriage

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Once they were in Belgium, Henry worked odd jobs for grocers and anything else that was available to him. In 1939, Henry married his wife, Dora and became the father of her small son, Henri. At the beginning of 1940, Henry wanted to get his parents out of the country and join his new family. For his mother, Henry worked with an underground group to try to smuggle his mother through the Belgium border. During her travels, Henry’s mother was discovered and was quickly arrested by the Gestapo. Henry’s father was not interested in leaving Austria because he was a teacher and felt he could not leave his students. Henry’s father, Maurycy was finally arrested by the Gestapo in late 1941 and sent to Buchenwald. Germany invaded neutral Belgium on May 10, 1940. At this time, all adult males in Belgium who were of German or Austrian nationality, as well as stateless persons, were required to register with the authorities and were detained as enemy aliens. Henry and Elie reported to the local town of Hal, 15 kilometers outside of Brussels.