Jacques Wagschal
Antwerp, Belgium
My mother was taken in 1944. It was the last transport that was sent to Auschwitz. My father was sent to a labor camp in France. He escaped from the labor camp and for two years he passed as a deaf mute. He never spoke because if he opened his mouth, they would know right away he was Jewish.
In the meantime, there was a group of women who took it upon themselves to save as many children as they could. There were about 750 of us that were in orphanages. They took us from one place to another so the Germans couldn’t catch us. What we went through and what we saw in Europe as children is a trauma that stays with you. It’s a thing that never goes away. So pray that it never happens again – to anyone.