us-005578-irn82142-irn82331
type: RecordSet
archival history: The medal and box were donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2012 by Claudine Davison and Renée Alalouf, the daughters, and Diane Leigh Davison, the granddaughter, of Menachem and Ita Blinbaum Konkowski.
biographical history: Menachem (Maurice) Benzion Konkowski (1905 – 1966) was born in Warsaw, Poland, to Marja Fajgla Binstock, born in Bedzin, and Zalman Josek Konkowski. He had a brother Adolf, born in 1903, and a sister Sonja. Zalman died in 1933. Later, Menachem immigrated to Brussels, Belgium, where he established Selecta, a metalworking shop that made clasps for handbags. He married Ita Blinbaum. Ita was born on July 5, 1904, in Pabianice, Poland, to Michael Jakub and Yachieta Zilbersac (1876-1963.) Her family immigrated to Belgium in the late 1920s. Her father had a textile factory that manufactured fabric used to make ties. Ita and Menachem had two daughters: Renée, born on September 19, 1935, and Claudine, born on August 20, 1938. In May 1940, Belgium was invaded and occupied by Nazi Germany. Anti-Jewish laws were immediately enacted to ostracize the Jewish population. Jewish property and businesses were confiscated and they were banned from certain professions. By 1942, all Jews were required to wear a yellow Star of David. Belgian Jews and immigrant Jewish males were selected for forced labor. That year, Menachem made arrangements to pay Aurelia Parent to hide his young daughters, as well as his nieces: Adolf’s daughters, Henriette and Marja and Sonja’s daughter, Lilianne. The girls lived in the Etterbeek section of Brussels. They were taught to tell people that they attended school with the nuns for a few hours daily. Menachem and Ita lived in hiding in a room next to the metal shop, and Adolf and his wife lived nearby. Occasionally, parents and children would meet briefly on street corners. The workshop was maintained by the Germans in case its metal working capabilities were needed for the war effort. The Germans assigned a permanent guard to the factory to inspect it regularly, but the guard was unaware of an ingenious wall concealing a hidden space in the back of the factory. Menachem had arranged for its construction earlier and used the space throughout the war to produc…
physical characteristics and technical requirements: a-b. Bronze circular medal, 1.375 inches diameter, with raised rims and an attached grosgrain ribbon. On the fhe front is an embossed image of a man in right profile, wearing a beret; on his right shoulder is a rifle butt. A name is engraved on the lower edge. The medal reverse has an embossed shield with a rampant lion flanked by an acronym. There is an acronym engraved above the shield with dates on the left and right. A suspension ring is attached to the top to a horizontal bar through which the ribbon is threaded. The white ribbon has 3 central narrow stripes of black, yellow and red, te Belgian colors. There is a metal backing pin with 2 prongs attached to the back of the ribbon. c. Rectangular shallow, cardboard box base with the sides covered in thin, gray paper. The underside is covered in thin white paper and has a brand name and logo of a man’s profile within a circle. The interior has diamond patterned white cloth lining. d. Rectangular shallow, cardboard box lid with the exterior covered in thin, gray paper. The exterior front has illegible handwritten text in pencil. The interior has remnants of diamond patterned white cloth lining. c. exterior, underside, cursive, red ink : P. De Greef / MEDA LLES / RUE DU MIDI / 112 BRUXELLES 112 / TEL. : 11. 50. 06 d. exterior, front, cursive, graphite : [ ? ] / All Rl[?]
conditions of access: No restrictions on access
conditions of use: No restrictions on use
has beginning date: 1940-01-01
has end date: 1945-12-31
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: 1
has record set type: Item
identifier: irn82331
is or was included in: us-005578-irn82142
record resource extent: a-b: Height: 3.125 inches (7.938 cm) | Width: 1.500 inches (3.81 cm) | Depth: 0.125 inches (0.318 cm) c: Height: 4.000 inches (10.16 cm) | Width: 2.000 inches (5.08 cm) | Depth: 0.375 inches (0.953 cm) d: Height: 4.250 inches (10.795 cm) | Width: 2.250 inches (5.715 cm) | Depth: 0.375 inches (0.953 cm)
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: Medaille du Mouvement National Belge 1940 - 1945 (Medal of the Belgian Nationalist Movement 1940-1945), ribbon and box awarded to Menachem Konkowski, a Jewish resistance fighter in Belgium, during the German occupation. Belgium was conquered by Nazi Germany in May 1940. The Germans enacted anti-Jewish legislation to persecute the Jewish population. Beginning in late 1941, Menachem, under the alias, Moliere, organized a Jewish resistance group, also called Moliere, the 9th Brigade of the Belgian Nationalist Movement in Uccle, a civil resistance organization. His unit committed acts of sabotage against the German occupiers, as well as assaults on German soldiers, and warehouse raids to acquire large weapons caches. The Moliere Group also gathered information on and arranged for the elimination of collaborators. Menachem placed his two young daughters, Renee, 7, and Claudine, 4, in hiding with Aurelia Parent in 1942. He and his wife Ita hid elsewhere, and were constantly on the move. Belgium was liberated by Allied troops on September 3, 1944. Menachem was honored by the Belgian and Polish governments for his wartime activities.
title: Medal of the Belgian Nationalist Movement 1940-1945, ribbon and box awarded to a Belgian Jewish resistance fighter