be-002157-kd 00514
type: RecordSet
archival history: Abraham Kesselman was able to salvage several pre-war and war-time photos and documents after he escaped from Transport XVI. His son Jack Kesselman kindly donated digital copies of a selection of items from the family collection to Kazerne Dossin in 2018.
biographical history: Abraham Kesselman was born on 4 July 1909 in Borszovice, Poland (today Borshchovychi in Ukraine) , as the son of Simon Kesselman and Ryfka Richter. He became an upholsterer and emigrated to Belgium in July 1928. Abraham Kesselman settled at Provinciestraat 249 in Antwerp and found a job in Merksem. He changed addresses several times before religiously marrying diamond cutter Liba Teitelbaum, born on 10 December 1911 in Potok Zloty, Poland. The marriage probably took place a few months after the invasion of Belgium by Nazi-Germany on 10 May 1940. During the occupation, Abraham and Liba first lived at Van Diepenbeeckstraat 64 in Antwerp (possibly a false address) before moving to Generaal Capiaumontstraat 40 in Berchem in October 1941. On 13 June 1942 Abraham Kesselman was sent to northern France by the German Arbeitsamt. Abraham was detained at the Condette camp where he worked as a forced labourer for Julius Berger, a subcontractor of the German Organisation Todt, responsible for the built of the Atlantic Wall. On 28 October 1942, Abraham was registered in Condette on the deportation list of Transport XVI. This convoy left France on 31 October 1942. Abraham was able to jump from the train and returned to Antwerp. He went into hiding but in January 1943 he claimed his remaining Organisation Todt wages at the Association of Jews in Belgium, probably to pay for his expenses while in hiding. Abraham also joined the resistance, delivering ration stamps to others in hiding, probably as a member of the Jewish Defence Committee. Upon liberation in September 1944 Abraham became the treasurer of the Antwerpsch Comité ter Verdediging van de Joodsche Belangen [Antwerp Committee for the Defence of Jewish Assets], the post-war local branch of the Jewish Defence Committee. His wife Liba Teitelbaum had received an Arbeitseinsatzbefehl, a convocation for forced labour, and was registered at the Dossin barracks on 21 August 1942. She had not survived deportation to Auschwitz-Birkenau…
location of copies: Digital copy available as KD_00514 at Kazerne Dossin
location of originals: Jack Kesselman, Private collection, Canada
physical characteristics and technical requirements: Digitally stored at Kazerne Dossin
related material: The included photos of Henri and Diane Rozen were used to complete the"Give them a Fac" portrait collection (KD_00017) and the commemoration wall at the Kazerne Dossin museum.
accruals: No further accruals are to be expected
conditions of access: Contact Kazerne Dossin Documentation Centre: archives@kazernedossin.eu
conditions of use: Contact Kazerne Dossin Documentation Centre: archives@kazernedossin.eu
has beginning date: 1928-01-01
has end date: 1950-12-31
has or had holder: be-002157
has or had some members with language: fra
has or had some members with language: eng
has or had some members with language: nld
has or had subject: 904
has or had subject: 519
has record set type: Collection
identifier: KD_00514
record resource extent: 37 digitised images (18 photos and 12 documents)
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: This collection contains photos and documents including pre-war pictures of Abraham Kesselman’s first wife Liba Teitelbaum, pre-war photos of Liba’s (unidentified) relatives and friends, pre-war photos of the Stern sisters, pre-war photos of Cipa Laja (Lea) Sztern’s children Henri and Diane Rozen, post-war photos of Eva Stern and Abraham Kesselman, Rachel Stern’s pre-war subscriptions and post-war British registration card, post-war cards from Harry Ekstein to his cousins Rachel and Sara Stern, the judicial document denying Abraham Kesselman the title of political prisoner, an RSVP to Sara Stern’s marriage, a leaflet regarding dual nationality, a handwritten card from Henri Rozen from 1940, a telegram from Cipa Laja (Lea) Sztern to her sisters in London from 1941, a post-war declaration regarding the position of Abraham Kesselman with the Antwerpsch Comité ter Verdediging van de Joodsche Belangen [Antwerp Committee for the Defence of Jewish Assets].
title: Kesselman-Stern family. Collection