On International Women’s Day, we take a moment to reflect on remarkable women in the history of Kazerne Dossin. Today, we tell the story of Fela Perelman.
Fela Perelman-Liwer was born in the Polish town of Będzin in 1909. She moved to Belgium, where she earned degrees in history and educational psychology. In Brussels, she met Chaïm Perelman, a Polish philosopher whom she married in 1935. A year later, their daughter Noemi was born.
At the outbreak of World War II, Fela attempted to flee to France with Noemi, while Chaïm had been called to the front. However, their attempt was unsuccessful, and the family was forced to stay in Belgium. Due to racial laws, Chaïm was banned from teaching at the university, and from 1942, Noemi was also forbidden from attending school.
In response, Fela founded “Nos Petits,” a network of four Jewish kindergartens. These schools provided education to Jewish children between the ages of 3 and 6 who were no longer allowed to attend public schools.
Fela and Chaïm were also involved in the creation of the Comité de Défense des Juifs (CDJ), the Jewish underground movement in Belgium. The first meeting was held at the home of the Perelman family in Uccle. The CDJ rescued 8,000 Jews and organized secret rescue and resistance operations.
On September 4, 1944, the cities of Mechelen and Antwerp were liberated by the Allies. A delegation from the CDJ, including Fela and her husband, came to the Dossin Barracks and gave all the prisoners still there 500 Belgian francs. They reassured everyone that the Germans were no longer present and that they could leave on trucks that would take them home.
Even after the war, Fela remained committed to supporting Jewish victims of the Holocaust. As president of Secours Mutuel Juif, she played an important role in setting up Belgian refugee homes and devoted herself to war orphans.
Fela passed away in 1991 in the United States.
