Miracles of Life: Simon Gronowski

The date is April 19, 1943. 1,631 people are being sent from a Nazi detention center in Belgium to their deaths in the gas chambers of Auschwitz. In Brussels, an 11-year-old boy is having breakfast with his mother and sister in the house where they are hiding until Gestapo soldiers raid the place.

Source:https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-22188075

Being born Jewish comes with a heavy price: being Jewish. Interestingly, in Germany, the center of the massacre, at most 1% of the population was Jewish before the massacre began.

The train departs for Auschwitz. Before the train departs, the Auschwitz passengers are held in the Kazerne Dassin detention center.

A group of resistance fighters stop the train at Boortmeerbeek. There are those waiting for an opportunity to escape from the train. Chana Gronowski puts 100 Francs in her 11-year-old son's sock and pushes him towards the door of the carriage with convoy number 20. Simon is not tall enough to touch the ground. Simon does not dare to jump off the speeding train. Chana Gronowski holds Simon by the shoulders and drops him to the ground and Simon is lowered from the train by his mother's hands.

Simon looks at the smoke of the moving train. At that moment, German soldiers open fire towards where Simon is. Simon tries to escape from the target by going down a slope that he sees at the point where he gets off the train. Then, he dives into the forest in front of him and disappears among the trees.

An 11-year-old boy is scared. He is in a panic. He tries to benefit from the benefits of scouting knowledge as he travels through the forest he fell into and over vast fields. He tries to calm himself down by humming a song his sister plays on the piano. He wants to go to Brussels, to his father, Leon Gronowski. Leon has been receiving treatment in hospital for a while and for this reason, he was not put on the train to the gas chambers of Auschwitz on the day the Gestapo raided their house.

Simon is certain that he will be caught and arrested. Wearing torn, ragged and muddy clothes, he knocks on the door of a house in a village he arrives at. He needs help. He must reach Brussels. A woman opens the door. Simon says he has lost his way. But the woman, fearing for her own life, hands Simon over to the police, who are in a state of disrepair. Every Belgian is obliged to hand over every Jew they see to the Gestapo. The price for not handing them over is immediate execution.

Jan Aerts asks Simon if he escaped from the Auschwitz convoy. Police officer Jan Aerts insists that he got lost on the way and wanted to go to Brussels. Three people who escaped the gas chambers of Auschwitz are lying on the floor of the police station.

A train is arranged for Simon. He reaches Brussels, where his father is. They are hidden by a Catholic family. Chana Gronowski is sent to the gas chambers as soon as she arrives at Auschwitz. Her 18-year-old sister Ita is in the next convoy.

From Kazerne Dossin, 25,483 Jews and 351 Roma were sent to the gas chambers of Auschwitz. Of those who attempted to escape, like Simon, 26 were shot dead that evening. 89 were captured. 118 managed to escape.

While 70% of the women in convoy number 20 died in the gas chambers of Auschwitz, the other women were sent to Birkenau to be used in medical experiments.

Chana and Ita Gronowski take their last breaths in the gas chambers of Auschwitz, and Leon Gronowski dies a few months after the end of the war.

Simon, left alone, studies law to seek an explanation for what he has experienced. In his own words, “Peace” and “Friendship” become the most meaningful words in his life. He also becomes a jazz pianist.

An opera was performed in Boortmeerbeek on October 3, 2021. The name is Push. The composer is Howard Moody. It was performed nine days before Simon Gronowski's 90th birthday. Push.

Simon Gronowski has spoken very little about his experiences for years. Many people have forced him to tell his story. Finally, he is introduced to Howard Moody. Howard Moody is very impressed by the moment Chana Gronowski takes her child off the train.

Simon Gronowski tells Howard Moody that his life has been nothing short of miracles.

The story of Simon Gronowski and Push from April 19, 1943 to October 3, 2021. Life is hard for everyone. But, it is harder for some people and there is a lot of room for miracles in this life.