Search
Tilda Alalouf was born on 18 January 1929 in Etterbeek, the daughter of Israël Allalouf and Eugénie Lévy, a Sephardic Jewish family originally from Constantinople (present-day Istanbul). She grew up between Saint-Gilles and Genval, along with her younger brother Sylvain.
During the Second World War, the family decided to go into hiding. Fearing arrest, her parents attempted to flee to Switzerland. However, they were apprehended at the border. Via Besançon, they ended up in the Drancy transit camp near Paris.
The family did not accept their imprisonment. Tilda’s uncle, Léon Lévy, tried everything to secure their release. In March 1943, he paid the German authorities an exceptionally large sum of 535,432.50 Belgian francs and 385,000 French francs – a fortune in wartime. An official receipt was drawn up for this, giving the family the impression that the release of Israël Allalouf and Eugénie Lévy was possible. However, the payment proved in vain. Despite the negotiations and the enormous financial sacrifice, Tilda’s parents were not released. Today, the preserved receipt stands as a poignant testimony to the desperation with which Jewish families tried to save their loved ones.
On 18 July 1943, Israël Allalouf and Eugénie Lévy were deported from Drancy to Auschwitz-Birkenau on transport 57. Both were murdered there.
Tilda and her brother remained in Belgium. Initially, they were placed with acquaintances of the family. When danger threatened there as well, the children were betrayed and handed over to the German occupier. Tilda was imprisoned in the Gestapo prison on Avenue Louise in Brussels and subsequently taken to Kazerne Dossin in Mechelen.
From Kazerne Dossin, she was transferred to the children’s home Manoir de Là-Bas. Thanks to her escape from deportation and the help of people who risked their lives to protect Jewish children, she was later able to go into hiding in a convent. There, she survived the war.
