Yvonne Jospa
Encyclopedia
Yvonne Jospa, née Have Groisman (b. February 3, 1910, Poputi, Bessarabia
, d. Brussels
January 20, 2000) 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. Yvonne Jaspar was her pseudonym
in the Belgian Resistance
.
Born in a well-to-do Bessarabian Jewish family, Jospa attended the Jewish gymnasium
in Chişinău
(present-day Moldova
), coming to Belgium
with the intention to study at the University of Liège
, in the Philosophy and Letters section. However, she changed direction, studying to become a social worker. In 1933 she married Hertz Jospa, and they both became activists, first in the Belgian Communist Party, then in 1936 in the anti-racism
organisation Ligue contre le racisme et l'antisémitisme, the Belgian section of the Ligue internationale contre l'antisémitime. She took part in hosting child refugees
from the Spanish Civil War
and in arranging secret passage through Belgium of volunteers for the International Brigades
.
Jospa's husband, Herz Jospa (d. 1966) was arrested in June 1943, detained in Fort Breendonk
, then deported to Buchenwald concentration camp
in May 1944. She thought he had died there, but he came back on May 8, 1945, after the camp was liberated by American troops
.
In 1964 Jospa co-founded the Union des Anciens Résistants Juifs de Belgique (Union of former Jewish resistance members of Belgium) of which she remained honorary chairperson until her death in 2000. She was also a cofounder, with her husband and others, of the Belgian chapter of the communist-led Mouvement contre le racisme, l'antisémitisme et pour la paix (M.R.A.P., "Movement against racism and antisemitism, and for peace") founded in Paris in 1949. The Belgian branch was renamed in 1966 to Mouvement contre le racisme, l'antisémitisme et la xénophobie (M.R.A.X., "Movement against racism, antisemitism and xenophobia"). She was a staunch communist, even a Stalinist
, but at the same time refused to endorse anti-zionist
stances after 1947. She was made an honorary member of the L'Enfant Caché association ("The hidden child").
In January 2003 Jospa's name was given to a road in Brussels, rue Yvonne Jospa.
Bessarabia
Bessarabia is a historical term for the geographic region in Eastern Europe bounded by the Dniester River on the east and the Prut River on the west....
, d. Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
January 20, 2000) was a cofounder and leading organizer with her husband Hertz Jospa of the Comité de Défense des Juifs
Comité de Défense des Juifs
The Comité de Défense des Juifs 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 of the Jewish Revolutionary organization Solidarité juive in September 1942.The CDJ had thirty-odd...
in September 1942, which saved over 3,000 Jewish children from deportation and death. Yvonne Jaspar was her pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
in the Belgian Resistance
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...
.
Born in a well-to-do Bessarabian Jewish family, Jospa attended the Jewish gymnasium
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
in Chişinău
Chisinau
Chișinău is the capital and largest municipality of Moldova. It is also its main industrial and commercial centre and is located in the middle of the country, on the river Bîc...
(present-day Moldova
Moldova
Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...
), coming to Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
with the intention to study at the University of Liège
University of Liège
The University of Liège , in Liège, Wallonia, Belgium, is a major public university in the French Community of Belgium. Its official language is French.-History:...
, in the Philosophy and Letters section. However, she changed direction, studying to become a social worker. In 1933 she married Hertz Jospa, and they both became activists, first in the Belgian Communist Party, then in 1936 in the anti-racism
Anti-racism
Anti-racism includes beliefs, actions, movements, and policies adopted or developed to oppose racism. In general, anti-racism is intended to promote an egalitarian society in which people do not face discrimination on the basis of their race, however defined...
organisation Ligue contre le racisme et l'antisémitisme, the Belgian section of the Ligue internationale contre l'antisémitime. She took part in hosting child refugees
Refugee
A refugee is a person who outside her country of origin or habitual residence because she has suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because she is a member of a persecuted 'social group'. Such a person may be referred to as an 'asylum seeker' until...
from the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
and in arranging secret passage through Belgium of volunteers for the International Brigades
International Brigades
The International Brigades were military units made up of volunteers from different countries, who traveled to Spain to defend the Second Spanish Republic in the Spanish Civil War between 1936 and 1939....
.
Jospa's husband, Herz Jospa (d. 1966) was arrested in June 1943, detained in Fort Breendonk
Fort Breendonk
Fort Breendonk is a fortification built in 1906 as part of the second ring of defences around the city of Antwerp . Originally one in a chain of fortresses constructed to defend Belgium against a German attack, Breendonk was near the town of the same name, about 12 miles southwest of Antwerp...
, then deported to Buchenwald concentration camp
Buchenwald concentration camp
Buchenwald concentration camp was a German Nazi concentration camp established on the Ettersberg near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937, one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps on German soil.Camp prisoners from all over Europe and Russia—Jews, non-Jewish Poles and Slovenes,...
in May 1944. She thought he had died there, but he came back on May 8, 1945, after the camp was liberated by American troops
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
.
In 1964 Jospa co-founded the Union des Anciens Résistants Juifs de Belgique (Union of former Jewish resistance members of Belgium) of which she remained honorary chairperson until her death in 2000. She was also a cofounder, with her husband and others, of the Belgian chapter of the communist-led Mouvement contre le racisme, l'antisémitisme et pour la paix (M.R.A.P., "Movement against racism and antisemitism, and for peace") founded in Paris in 1949. The Belgian branch was renamed in 1966 to Mouvement contre le racisme, l'antisémitisme et la xénophobie (M.R.A.X., "Movement against racism, antisemitism and xenophobia"). She was a staunch communist, even a Stalinist
Stalinism
Stalinism refers to the ideology that Joseph Stalin conceived and implemented in the Soviet Union, and is generally considered a branch of Marxist–Leninist ideology but considered by some historians to be a significant deviation from this philosophy...
, but at the same time refused to endorse anti-zionist
Anti-Zionism
Anti-Zionism is opposition to Zionistic views or opposition to the state of Israel. The term is used to describe various religious, moral and political points of view in opposition to these, but their diversity of motivation and expression is sufficiently different that "anti-Zionism" cannot be...
stances after 1947. She was made an honorary member of the L'Enfant Caché association ("The hidden child").
In January 2003 Jospa's name was given to a road in Brussels, rue Yvonne Jospa.