Jewish refugees — to stay or flee again

Pre-war Belgium was home to a sizeable Jewish community, partly made up of refugees who had fled Nazism in Germany, Austria or Eastern Europe. With the arrival of the occupier in the summer of 1940, these families, who had already fled once, saw the threat they believed they had escaped drawing closer.

At this stage, the occupier had not yet issued in Belgium the great anti-Jewish ordinances (registration, exclusions), which would come in the autumn of 1940. But the German experience left little doubt about what was looming. For you, the dilemma was terrible and early. To remain in Belgium, in the hope that the occupation there would be milder than elsewhere, and for want of the means to leave. To flee yet again, towards unoccupied France, Spain, Portugal or beyond, at the cost of a new and uncertain exile. Or to try to keep a low profile, staying discreet without moving.

Information was scarce, the borders were closing, visas were lacking. Should one leave while there might still be time, or stay and hope? The choice, made in uncertainty, could decide survival.