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Following the liberation of Belgium in September 1944, Dom Bruno assisted in reuniting the hidden children with parents or other members of the immediate family. Problems arose when representatives of the Jewish community opposed attempts by some Christians to adopt orphaned Jewish children, especially since many of these children requested baptism as the result of their Catholic experience. Dom Bruno, who during the Nazi occupation opposed active conversion of his charges, took the position that each case should be evaluated individually with the best interest of the child being the deciding factor
Henri Reynders (Dom Bruno) (24 October 1903 – 26 October 1981) was a Belgian priest credited with saving 400 Jews during the Holocaust.In 1942, the Nazi authorities began rounding up Jews in Belgium for deportation to the death camps. On orders of his superior, Dom Bruno proceeded to the hamlet of Hodbomont, to act as chaplain at a home for the blind. The priest soon became aware that the home was used as a hiding place for a number of Jewish adults and children, brought there by a group of Christians opposed to the Nazi policies. The leader of the group was a prominent lawyer, Albert van den Berg, with whom Dom Bruno became a close collaborator. When it became unsafe to continue hiding Jews at this location, the home was closed and its occupants dispersed to other locations. Dom Bruno returned to Mont-Csar and dedicated himself exclusively to finding places of refuge for Jews. In undertaking the dangerous mission of rescuing as many Jews as possible from deportation, Dom Bruno found support among fellow monks at Mont-Csar and higher-ups in the Belgian church hierarchy. He built an underground network by establishing contacts with a number of existing resistance groups and individuals similarly engaged in rescue work. Several of these individuals, including the lawyer van den Berg, paid with their lives for these humanitarian activities. Dom Bruno's major effort was finding families and institutions willing to hide Jews, especially Jewish children, in spite of the obvious risks. In this he was most successful by appealing to the prospects' Christian faith and values. Consequently, many of the cooperating institutions were Catholic boarding schools, usually operating within the walls of convents or monasteries. Dom Bruno would personally accompany “his children” to their new homes or move them to new locations to prevent suspicion among villagers Dom Bruno with some of the Jewish children he saved during World War IIHe would frequently visit these children, providing a link with their parents who were also hiding, when not deported as was often the case. In addition to building and running his “underground railroad”, Dom Bruno ensured that his charges were provided with false identifications, including non-Jewish sounding names, fake ration cards, as well as financial assistance to the rescuers. These logistical concerns could only be met with the willing but risky cooperation of numerous city officials, civil servants, and generous donors. The Gestapo got wind of Father Bruno's activities and raided Mont Csar Abbey in 1944. Fortunately, Dom Bruno was away at the time. Following the unsuccessful raid, the monk went into hiding himself, trading his habit for civilian garb and sporting a beret to hide his tonsure.A fellow monk at the abbey provided him with several skillfully forged identification cards. Often using a bicycle, and in spite of subsequent close calls, Dom Bruno continued his dangerous mission of mercy for the duration of the Nazi occupation.
Father Bruno was a Belgian monk who is responseable for the rescuing of 320 jewish children during the holocaust. he insured that all children has rations and helped them get false identification records and fake IDS. He did not stop there father bruno helped the children find there parents once the war ended.In 1964, the state of Israel proclaimed Dom Bruno Reynders a “Righteous Among the Nations”, an honor bestowed on gentiles who risked their lives to help Jews during the Holocaust
FATHER BRUNO MORE THAN JUST A RESCUER BUT AN INSPERATION TO ALL
http://fcit.usf.edu/holocaust/Resource/movies.htm
We are all different; because of that, each of us has something different and special to offer and each and every one of us can make a difference by not being indifferent." - Henry Friedman Chairman of the Holocaust Education Centre, Washington. The Holocaust is a central event in many people's lives, but it also has become a metaphor for our century. There cannot be an end to speaking and writing about it. Besides, in Israel, everyone carries a biography deep inside him." - Aharon Appelfeld No one yet knows what awaits the Jews in the twenty-first century, but we must make every effort to ensure that it is better than what befell them in the twentieth, the century of the Holocaust." - Benjamin Netanyahu There must be people who remember World War II and the Holocaust who can help us get out of this rut." - Martin Scorsese There were many ways of not burdening one's conscience, of shunning responsibility, looking away, keeping mum. When the unspeakable truth of the Holocaust then became known at the end of the war, all too many of us claimed that they had not known anything about it or even suspected anything." - Richard von Weizsaecker
