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Lajba Chlewicki endured deportations that claimed the lives of several family members. Lajba survived Auschwitz, and after the war, he and his wife Ruchla Goldflam took in their orphaned niece, striving to rebuild their lives.
Lajba Chlewicki (°16/09/1899 in Bedzin, Poland) moved from Poland, via Hamburg, to Belgium in November 1924. He works as a furrier and in 1925 settles in Marcinelle, rue de la Vilette. Lajba moves frequently, mainly between the cities of La Louvière, Sint-Gillis and Anderlecht. He applies for Belgian nationality, but this is refused because he does not meet all the conditions and has not fulfilled his military obligations both in Poland and in Belgium. Despite this rejection, he remains active as a furrier and applies for permission to sell fur in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.
Ruchla Goldflam (°08/04/1906 in Warsaw, Poland) left for Belgium in April 1929 together with her sister Chela (°22/08/1908 in Warsaw, Poland). Their father, Szaja Goldflam, was a widower and already lived in Anderlecht. Szaja wrote a letter to the Belgian authorities requesting that his daughters be moved from Poland to Belgium as he feared for their safety. This letter proves to be successful because the girls receive an unlimited visa and go and live with their father in Anderlecht.
When Germany invaded Belgium in May 1940 and imposed an anti-Jewish policy, Lajba and Ruchla were not yet married. They registered separately in the Register of Jews, Lajba on 19 December 1940 and Ruchla on 27 December 1940. Finally Lajba and Ruchla got married on 8 July 1942 and went to live in the Rossini street in Anderlecht. When they moved in, they registered with the Jewish Association of Brussels. The form shows that Ruchla’s sister Chela is living with the newly married couple. Both Ruchla and Chela worked as tailors.
Lajba was registered in the SS-Sammellager Mecheln on 9 July 1943 and deported with transport XXI on 31 July. His sister-in-law Chela was registered the same day, but deported with transport XXIIB on 20 September 1943. Chela did not return. Lajba was selected for forced labour on arrival in Auschwitz. The number 133266 was tattooed on his arm. Lajba survives and is repatriated to Belgium in 1945, where he is reunited with his wife Ruchla.
Lajba’s brother-in-law, Majer Goldflam (°25 September 1900) was a leather worker. On 19 July 1943, Majer was registered at the SS-Sammellager Mecheln together with his wife, Matla Liba Frajermauer (°11 October 1903 in Częstochowa). They were the parents of a daughter, Lea Goldflam. Both were placed on Transport XXI for Auschwitz as well. Neither survived the Holocaust.
After the war, Lajba and Ruchla became the foster parents of their niece Lea Goldflam after her parents did not return from Auschwitz.
Last modified: 14 August 2025
