be-002157-kd 00566
type: RecordSet
archival history: In the late 1990s Melvyn George Fishel, grandson of Menasche alias Maximilian Brunner and Esther Hollander, started research on his family history. After getting in touch with Kazerne Dossin, he donated copies of his family's wartime photos to the museum in 2019.
biographical history: Menasche alias Maximilian Brunner was born in Kaschau, Czechoslovakia, on 15 May 1894 as the son of Baruch Brunner and Rifka Kendel Hollander. Maximilian had two sisters named Esther (born on 18 August 1895) and Rachel alias Rosa (born on 9 November 1897). In 1899 the Brunner family migrated to Belgium. During the First World War, Maximilian nonetheless had to serve in the Austro-Hungarian army. He reached the rank of Oberleutnant and received several medals. After his military service Maximilian married religiously Esther Hollander, born on 29 November 1895 in Rozwadów, Poland. In August 1919 the couple settled in Antwerp, where their daughter Dora was born on 26 December that year. Maximilian and Esther officially married at the city hall in Antwerp on 27 April 1920. Maximilian provided for his family selling diamonds, while Esther took care of the household. A second child named Henri Brunner was born in Antwerp on 9 December 1924. By 1940 the Brunner-Hollander family lived in Kappellen, but they continued to move back and forth between the village and Antwerp. During the first two years of the war, Maximilian, his wife Esther and their children obeyed the anti-Jewish decrees. They registered in the municipal Jewish Register, became members of the Association of Jews in Belgium, had their IDs stamped with the words “Jood-Juif” and wore the yellow star. In the late summer of 1942, the Brunner-Hollander family went into hiding. After living in Uccle for a while, they were taken in by Paul and Maria Balzat in Genval. To send parcels to their loved ones in the Dossin barracks and to give financial support to their rescuers, the Brunner-Hollander family members went out to work in Brussels (Henri) and in the Jewish orphanage in Wezembeek-Oppem (Dora). They obtained false papers and Henri’s age was changed so he would not be taken for forced labour. On 11 June 1943, Maximilian Brunner was walking in the street in Brussels when he was recognized by a snitch during an ID…
location of originals: Melvyn George Fishel, Private collection, Belgium
physical characteristics and technical requirements: Digitally stored at Kazerne Dossin
publication note: FISHEL Melvyn George, Caught up in the Torments of the Shoah, manuscript published online (http://www.fishel.net/shoah.html) ; BRUNNER Henri, Memoiries 40-45 / Souvenirs 40-45, s.l., 2013, unpublished manuscript. (available at the Kazerne Dossin reading room)
related material: The Fishel-Black family collection (KD_00052) contains more information on the family of Dora Brunner's husband Leonard (Len) Fishel.
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: 1899-01-01
has end date: 1952-12-31
has or had holder: be-002157
has or had some members with language: fra
has or had some members with language: deu
has or had some members with language: nld
has or had subject: 1226
has or had subject: 904
has or had subject: 519
has or had subject: 868
has or had subject: 204
has record set type: Collection
identifier: KD_00566
record resource extent: 24 digitised images (18 photos and 5 documents)
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: This collection contains: pre-war photos of Menasche alias Maximilian Brunner, his wife Esther Hollander, their children Dora and Henri Brunner, and the extended Brunner family ; wartime photos of the Brunner family while in hiding at Genval with the Balzat family ; a photo of Menasche alias Maximilian Brunner being reunited with his wife Esther Hollander and their son Henri at the Royal Circus in Brussels in 1945 ; war-time Red Cross membership card and ID card of Rosa Brunner ; advertisement stamp of Pension Brunner located in Heide ; Menasche alias Maximilian Brunner's Hungarian military certificate.
title: Brunner-Hollander family. Collection