Arnold H. Einhorn papers

Arnold (née Arthur) Einhorn was born on May 1, 1923 in Antwerp, Belgium. He was one of five children in an Orthodox Jewish family. Arnold did not experience much antisemitism in Belgium until 1936 when two strong Fascist and antisemitic groups, the Flemish Fascists and the Rexists emerged. When the Germans entered Belgium in May 1940, the Einhorn family fled to France. After registering as refugees, the family settled in the Ardèche province in France where they stayed until November when they were ordered to report to an internment camp in Agde. From there, the family was transferred to Rivesaltes, a concentration camp in France. After Rivesaltes was liberated in 1941, the Einhorns moved to Montpellier, France where Arnold registered in school. Although many of their neighbors in Montpellier knew the Einhorns were Jewish and continued to help them, Arnold experienced antisemitism in his school and eventually stopped going. While living in Montpellier, Arnold and his father were again ordered to Agde. To avoid another internment in the camp, the Einhorns went into hiding. On August 26, 1942, the majority of Jews in the free zone of France were rounded up and deported. The Einhorns were spared deportation, and with the help of a friend, they received absolution and were allowed to return to their home in Belgium in November.

Shortly after the Germans marched into Belgium, Arnold moved to Grenoble in the Italian zone of France and joined the Jewish underground. Through the underground, he received a false identity and assisted in hiding Jews and distributing false identification papers. After working with the underground for a few months, Arnold received a new assignment. His mission was to cross into Spain via a mountain route to set up more contacts there and eventually make his way to Palestine. Several of his comrades died along the way, and those who did make it were betrayed by a Spanish market woman and arrested. Arnold was sent to several prisons and camps before being released in August 1943 with the help of the American Joint Distribution Committee. After his release, Arnold sailed to Haifa, Palestine, aboard a cargo ship. He joined the British Royal Army Service Corps and fought in Italy where he joined company 178 of the Jewish Brigade. Until the brigade was disbanded, Arnold helped smuggle children out of concentration camps and illegally took them to Palestine. After World War II, Arnold returned to Belgium where he was reunited with his family. He helped his parents immigrate to Palestine and then went to France where he studied medicine.