be-002157-kd 00962
type: RecordSet
archival history: Both documents, both photo albums and most of the single photos in this collection were preserved by Laja (also Loli or Liliane) Celmanska, wife of Szaja alias Charles Rochman. Laja brought some of the items with her when moving from Poland to Belgium in 1932. Upon her death the photos and albums were handed to her nephew Joseph Abraham Rochman who added single photos to the collection. In 2023 Joseph’s daughter Rosa Rochman kindly permitted Kazerne Dossin to digitize all items in this collection.
biographical history: Polish tailor Abraham Josek Rochman was born on 15 April 1879. On 11 August 1907 he married Syma Tema Malberg (born in Warsaw, Poland, on 22 May 1882). The couple had four children: Chaim Eleazar (born on 1 August 1908), Szaja alias Charles (born on 17 December 1913), Ruchla (born on 11 June 1915) and Bernard (born on 20 July 1920). In 1923 the family relocated to Paris, France, but in October 1928 second son Charles, who was very active in communist circles, was arrested during a protest march after which he spent six weeks in prison. The French authorities subsequently ordered the expulsion of the Rochman-Malberg family from France. Abraham, Syma and their children arrived in Belgium on temporary visa in the summer of 1929 and settled at Rue Gustave Defnet 31 in Saint-Gilles. Abraham started a tailor workshop where his wife and children also worked. In early October 1929 Abraham, his wife Syma and their two youngest children Ruchla and Bernard received a permanent residence permit for Belgium. However, eldest sons Chaim and Charles were ordered to leave the country within twelve days. It was only after father Abraham’s sudden death on 31 October 1929 that Chaim and Charles were allowed to stay to take care of their mother and younger siblings. The brothers were, however, placed under surveillance by the Belgian security service. By March 1930 no evidence of any suspicious communist activities had been found, because of which Chaim and Charles also received a permanent residence permit. Nonetheless, Charles did remain politically active and he even became an important member of the Jewish tailors syndicate and of the Jewish section of the Main-d’Oeuvre immigrée (MOI), the immigrant workers union affiliated with the communist party. When, in 1936, the Spanish Civil War broke out, Charles joined the International Brigades. He was a soldier for three years before being injured. His right hand was mutilated. Charles was repatriated to Belgium where he became a founding…
location of originals: Rosa Rochman, private collection, Belgium
publication note: STEINBERG Maxime and GOTOVITCH José, Otages de la terreur nazie: le Bulgare Angheloff et son groupe de partisans juifs (1940-1943), Brussels, 2007.
related material: The included photo of Ruchla Rochman was 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 Research Centre: archives@kazernedossin.eu
conditions of use: Contact Kazerne Dossin Research Centre: archives@kazernedossin.eu
has beginning date: 1900-01-01
has end date: 1960-12-31
has or had holder: be-002157
has or had some members with language: fra
has or had some members with language: pol
has or had subject: 1095
has or had subject: 112
has record set type: Collection
identifier: KD_00962
record resource extent: 183 digitised images (2 documents, 2 photo albums with pictures and 140 single photos)
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: This collection contains: pre-war photos of Syma Tema Malberg and her children Chaim Rochman, Szaja alias Charles Rochman, Ruchla Rochman and Bernard Rochman ; pre-war photos of Chaim Rochman, his wife Brajna Mejerzon, their son Joseph Abraham Rochman and other relatives ; pre-war photos of Szaja alias Charles Rochman with comrades such as Emile Lovenvirth and Aba Arhimovici ; two pre-war albums with photos of Szaja alias Charles Rochman and his wife Laja (also Loli or Liliane) Celmanska, including holiday pictures and photos taken during outings with fiends ; pre-war photos of Laja Celmanska depicting her life in Warsaw, Poland, before coming to Belgium in 1932, including photos of her at gymnastics practice ; pre-war photos of Laja Celmanska and her friends during outings in Brussels; a pre-war invitation to the wedding of a relative of Laja Celmanska ; post-war photos of Joseph Abraham Rochman ; a post-war membership ID issued to Laja Celmanska by the Union des Anciens Combattants et Résistants Polonais en Belgique.
title: Rochman-Malberg family. Collection