Comité de Défense des Juifs
Encyclopedia
The Comité de Défense des Juifs (CDJ, , Jews' defense committee) was an organization of the Belgian Resistance
, affiliated to the Front de l'Indépendance
, founded by the Jewish Communist Hertz Jospa and his wife Have Groisman (Yvonne Jospa
) of the Jewish Revolutionary organization Solidarité juive
in September 1942.
The CDJ had thirty-odd members in its children's section alone. These members formed an effective committee and came from all political and religious horizons, overcoming their divergent views to unite for the sake of saving Jewish children. The CDJ succeeded in saving about 3,500 of the 5,000 children who became enfants cachés ("hidden children", hidden among non-Jewish Belgian families, convents, etc.). The CDJ was also involved in other aspects of the resistance, producing the clandestine publications such as Unser Kampf ("Our Battle").
The CDJ also functioned as a national organisation in the field of social services. The section Kinderen (Children) became responsible for hiding and supporting those who had gone underground. The co-operation and assistance from the non-Jewish sector was remarkable. Thanks to 'unarmed resistance fighters' more than 3,000 Jews were rescued from deportation. The price paid for this campaign, however, was high. Many members of the CDJ together with their fellow collaborators were arrested by the authorities.
Belgian resistance
Belgian resistance during World War II to the occupation of Belgium by Nazi Germany took different forms. "The Belgian Resistance" was the common name for the Netwerk van de weerstand - Réseau de Résistance or Resistance Network , a group of partisans fighting the Nazis...
, affiliated to the Front de l'Indépendance
Front de l'Indépendance
The Front de l'indépendance was a Belgian resistance movement during World War II, founded in March 1941 by Dr. Albert Marteaux of the Communist Party of Belgium, Father André Roland, and Fernand Demany, another communist...
, founded by the Jewish Communist Hertz Jospa and his wife Have Groisman (Yvonne Jospa
Yvonne Jospa
Yvonne Jospa, née Have Groisman was a cofounder and leading organizer with her husband Hertz Jospa of the Comité de Défense des Juifs in September 1942, which saved over 3,000 Jewish children from deportation and death...
) of the Jewish Revolutionary organization Solidarité juive
Union des progressistes juifs de Belgique
The Union des progressistes juifs de Belgique is a Belgian Jewish organization set up in 1939 as Solidarité juive by antifascist Jews in Belgium, becoming in 1946 Solidarité juive, aide aux victimes de l'oppresseur nazi...
in September 1942.
The CDJ had thirty-odd members in its children's section alone. These members formed an effective committee and came from all political and religious horizons, overcoming their divergent views to unite for the sake of saving Jewish children. The CDJ succeeded in saving about 3,500 of the 5,000 children who became enfants cachés ("hidden children", hidden among non-Jewish Belgian families, convents, etc.). The CDJ was also involved in other aspects of the resistance, producing the clandestine publications such as Unser Kampf ("Our Battle").
The CDJ also functioned as a national organisation in the field of social services. The section Kinderen (Children) became responsible for hiding and supporting those who had gone underground. The co-operation and assistance from the non-Jewish sector was remarkable. Thanks to 'unarmed resistance fighters' more than 3,000 Jews were rescued from deportation. The price paid for this campaign, however, was high. Many members of the CDJ together with their fellow collaborators were arrested by the authorities.