April 19, 1943
Belgian Resistance Stops the Twentieth Convoy
Historical context
On this day, April 19, 1943, three Belgian resistance fighters stopped a deportation train from Mechelen to Auschwitz, the only such attack on a convoy.
Archive record
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- Date
- April 19, 1943
- Verified sources
- 1
- Archive threads
- 5
On this day, Youra Livchitz, Jean Franklemon, and Robert Maistriau stopped the twentieth deportation convoy from the Mechelen transit camp on the line near Boortmeerbeek. They signaled the train with a red lantern, forced a halt, and opened one car. Seventeen people left that car before the train moved again.
About 1,631 Jews were on the transport. More than 200 later jumped from the moving train. Some reached safety; others were recaptured or killed. Livchitz was later executed. The attack remains the only documented armed stop of a deportation train to Auschwitz.
Research trail
Sources and further reading
- Belgium · United States Holocaust Memorial Museum · Holocaust Encyclopedia View source
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