Overview
- Brief Narrative
- Star of David patch worn by Francois Zygielman, 9, in German occupied Belgium. Belgium was invaded by Germany in May 1940. In 1942, a Judenstern badge had to worn by all Jews over age six on the outer clothing at all times. Francois's mother Rosa sewed this star to his jacket. In October 1942, Rosa was deported to Auschwitz concentration camp and murdered. Francois and his father Cudyk went into hiding in separate locations. Cudyk remained in Brussels, but Francois was moved several times, from Madame Pierlot's home, to a Catholic orphanage, and then, in late 1943, with the help of Abbe Joseph Andre, to a home in Ciney. Belgium was liberated in September 1944 and Cudyk came to get Francois. Cudyk and Francois left for America in 1949.
- Date
-
use:
approximately 1942-approximately 1944
- Geography
-
use:
Brussels (Belgium)
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Frank Siegel
- Markings
- front, center, black dye : J.
- Contributor
-
Subject:
Frank Siegel
- Biography
-
Francois Zygielman (later Frank Siegel) was born on October 7, 1933, in Antwerp, Belgium, to Cudyk and Rozia Schreiber Zygielman. Cudyk was born on January 29, 1901, in Lublin, Poland, where his family had lived since at least 1740. Rozia was born on June 5, 1905, in Lemberg, Austro-Hungary. In 1918, it was known as Lwow and was part of Poland (present day L’viv, Ukraine). Circa 1928, Cudyk and Rozia immigrated to Belgium. They married on September 25, 1929.
In May 1940, Nazi Germany invaded Belgium. Francois and his family tried to escape to Great Britain during the evacuations from Dunkirk, but had to return to Belgium. The German military administration immediately enacted anti-Jewish policies. Jews were banned from many professions and their property was confiscated. In 1942, all Jews over age six had to wear Star of David badges at all times. Many were made to perform forced labor. Deportations to concentration and slave labor camps in the east also began in 1942. Rozia had to be taken to the hospital in 1942. German authorities then sent her to Mechen (Malines) transit camp. She was deported in October to eastern Europe. Cudyk and Francois went into hiding in separate locations soon after that. That September, Francois had been given the name Henri Teugends, using the certificates of a child who had died. Cudyk took Francois to Madame Pierlot, who cared for and also hid orphaned children. Cudyk then decided to find a more secure place for Francois to hide and placed him in a Catholic orphanage in Namur. Francois did not like it there, as one the nuns would tell him and the other children that "You Jews suffer because you crucified Christ." In late 1943, he was moved to a home in Ciney, with the help of Abbe Joseph Andre. Cudyk lived in hiding in Brussels. Belgium was liberated in September 1944. Cudyk came to get Francois two days after liberation.
The war did not end until May 1945 when Germany surrendered. Cudyk and Francois were reunited. They learned that Rozia had been sent to Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland and killed. All of Rozia and Cudyk’s family in Poland perished. Cudyk sought visas for them to go to the United States. Francois was on the Belgian quota and received one quickly. Cudyk was on the Polish quota and had to wait two years. Francois lived in a series of orphanages run by Aid to Jewish Victims of the War. Cudyk and Francois emigrated to the United States in 1949. Cudyk married Erna Bialer in 1951. Erna was born on February 11, 1941, to Boruch and Gisia Rois Bialer in Warsaw, Poland. She was a survivor of Majdanek, Auschwitz, and Bergen-Belsen concentration camps. She had relocated to Belgium in 1946 and emigrated to the United States in 1951. The family settled in Brooklyn. Francois Americanized his name to Frank Siegel. He became a teacher, married, and had two children. Cudyk, 78, died in 1979. Erna passed away on May 22, 2000.
Physical Details
- Classification
-
Identifying Artifacts
- Category
-
Badges
- Object Type
-
Star of David badges (lcsh)
- Physical Description
- Yellow cloth badge in the shape of a 6 pointed Star of David. The star outline is formed from 2 overlapping, dyed triangles with a J. printed in the center. The edges are neatly folded over with loose threads and small holes at the arm intersections where it was sewn to clothing. It is stained and worn.
- Dimensions
- overall: Height: 3.500 inches (8.89 cm) | Width: 3.000 inches (7.62 cm)
- Materials
- overall : cloth, dye, thread
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- No restrictions on access
- Conditions on Use
- No restrictions on use
Keywords & Subjects
- Topical Term
- Jewish children in the Holocaust--Belgium--Biography. Hidden children (Holocaust)--Belgium--Biography. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Belgium--Personal narratives. Jews--Rescue--Belgium--Biography. Righteous Gentiles in the Holocaust--Belgium--Biography. Holocaust survivors--Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)--Biography.
Administrative Notes
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- The badge was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2003 by Frank Siegel.
- Funding Note
- The cataloging of this artifact has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
- Record last modified:
- 2024-07-18 08:00:53
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn514367
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Also in Frank Siegel family collection
The collection consists of a Star of David badge, correspondence, and photographs relating to the experiences of Francois Zygielman (later Frank Siegel) and his family in Belgium during and after the Holocaust.
Date: 1922-1951
Frank Siegel papers
Document
The Frank Siegel papers include biographical materials, correspondence, and photographs documenting Frank Siegel’s parents and their families in Poland and Belgium before the war, his mother’s deportation to Auschwitz, and his relationship with his father in Belgium after the war. Biographical materials include a 1942 school certificate and 1962 restitution case decision for Frank Siegel, prescriptions for ear drops for Cudyk Zygielman, Rozia Zygielman’s passport, a certificate attesting to her moral standing, and notes documenting her transport to Auschwitz. Correspondence primarily includes postcards Cudyk and Rozia Zygielman received from friends and family before the war and letters Frank Siegel wrote to his father from various boarding schools in Belgium after the war. Correspondence also includes a letter from Cudyk Zygielman’s mother and a greeting card from a friend of Rozia Zygielman congratulating the couple on their marriage. Photographs depict Frank Siegel with his parents and classmates in Belgium, Cudyk and Rozia Zygielman and their relatives in Poland, and Erna Bialer Zygielman at a displaced persons camp in Germany around 1945 and on the Italian liner “Christopher Columbus” on her way to the United States in 1951. Cudyk Zygielman received the photographs of his relatives while in Belgium and kept them while in hiding.
