In June of 1942, Alice Schiffer visited her cousin, Lydia Wegielski, in Brussels. At that time, it was very dangerous for Jewish people; they were required to wear the yellow Star of David and forced labor and deportation to Auschwitz had begun. During her visit with her cousin, Alice suggested that she take Lydia’s neighbor’s children, Inge and Lydia Kollmann, with her to Anzegen, a small village in Belgium.
Alice took care of the children for about a year and then adopted them and had them baptized, which allowed the children to live in a convent where they were safe. Alice continued to look after the children while they lived in the convent.
The Kollman’s apartment in Brussels was raided and the girls’ father was captured and taken to Auschwitz where he died in 1942. The girls’ mother, who was hidden by Alice’s sister, survived the war. Inge and Lydia also survived.
Alice died in September 1996.
Source: http://www.jfr.org/content/default.asp?artid=329
Edited by Stephanie Surach
