Oberman-Dupont family. Collection

Contact Kazerne Dossin Documentation Centre: archives@kazernedossin.eu Liliane Oberman was born in Etterbeek, Brussels, on 10 March 1941. Her father, Zelman Simon Oberman, his parents and sisters had fled Zhytomyr, Ukraine, in 1919 because of pogroms. After reuniting in France, some family members moved to Belgium where Zelman Simon Oberman met Belgian catholic Maria Dupont at a carnival. They married on 7 January 1939 and settled in Sint-Joost-ten-Node/Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, Brussels. In May 1940, Zelman Simon Oberman and Maria Dupont tried to flee Belgium, but they had to turn back at De Panne. The couple returned to Brussels, where Liliane, who remained an only child, was born in May 1941. From July until November 1941 Zelman Simon Oberman was incarcerated at the Breendonk fortress, camp for political prisoners, after having been betrayed by a competitor in the diamond business. After his release, he had to report to the Sicherheitspolizei-Sicherheitsdienst (Sipo-SD) weekly, but he stopped going when Jews who did go never returned. In 1943, Zelman Simon Oberman was arrested by the Sipo-SD again, but his wife, Maria Dupont, went to their office at Avenue Louise and returned home with her husband. Zelman Simon Oberman, his wife and daughter were subsequently hidden by friends in Limburg. Zelman Simon Oberman took on the false identity of Paul Joseph Vandenbroek. His sister and his mother, who lived in France during the war, took on the false name Martin. Ephraim Frans Oberman, paternal grandfather of the donor, was also hidden in Belgium. When visiting his granddaughter Liliane in October 1942, he decided to go out for a walk and he was arrested. He did not survive deportation via transport XIII from the Dossin barracks. The other family members in Belgium survived the war. After Liberation, at the end of 1944, Liliane Oberman and her mother were among the first to visit the former Breendonk camp. Pictures of their visit were published in the Belgian press. Liliane Oberman went on to become a teacher. She is also a member of L'Enfant Caché, the Belgian association of hidden children and has played an active role during commemorations at Kazerne Dossin. The collection contains documents, photos, printed press and objects including : several postwar newsletters, newspapers and a book on the Breendonk camp ; false IDs used by the donor's aunt in France and false ID and empty ID of her father Zelman Simon Oberman ; post-war work permits ; prewar Russian passports and visa applications ; letters from Sonia Wisniky in France to her son Zelman Simon Oberman in Brussels and Breendonk and to her husband Ephraim Frans Oberman in Belgium ; letters sent by Ephraim Franz Oberman, paternal grandfather of the donor, from the internment camp in Rekem, Limburg, to his son Zelman Simon Oberman and to the Belgian authorities ; prewar and postwar photos of the Oberman family and of the Breendonk fortress ; the cane of Ephraim Frans Oberman, a bullet found by Zelman Simon Oberman in May 1940, and a uniform badge.