Local Author Recalls Surviving Nazi Occupation of Belgium

CAPE MAY — Arlette Michaelis, a South Dennis resident and retired Avalon Elementary School teacher, has an insight on the World War II Nazi occupation of Brussels, Belgium: she lived through it.
Michaelis is author of the book “Beyond the Ouija Board.” Cape May Stage hosted a talk by Michaelis on Tue. Oct. 5 where Mayor Edward J. Mahaney Jr. presented her with a humanitarian award from the citizens of Cape May for resisting the German occupation of Belgium and harboring Belgian Jews.
“The Belgians have always given a hard time to any kind of occupier,” said Michaelis.
She said Belgium was occupied by Roman armies as well as the Spaniards, the French, and the Dutch in its history.
Michaelis’ was 15 years old when Germany invaded Belgium. Her parents were teens during World War I and instilled a fear in her of their country once again being attacked by the Germans. She said they told her stories of all they did to annoy the Germans.
After the Germans invaded Belgium, Michaelis realized “her youth was over.” Initially, her family tried to escape to France but returned to Brussels.
“The very first thing they did was to take all of the food we were producing in Belgium in order to feed their Army,” said Michaelis.
Next, the Nazis emptied stores of merchandise.
“We were ready to give the Germans a very hard time, “she said.
Her brother was 14 and her sister age 12.
“We were of absolutely no value to the German Army, so we could do a lot of pranks and just blame it on our age,” said Michaelis.
She said she discovered Germans wore raincoats that were very flammable and were easily set on fire with a cigarette. They pushed Germans and their flaming coats off streetcars.
Michaelis said teens would swing their school book bags and hit Germans “in a place where it really hurts.”
There was a vacant apartment in their apartment building which was soon filled by a German family, she said.
Michaelis said the German family had food they stored in the cellar of the building and she and her siblings would help themselves to the food since they were hungry.
She said the Germans were very unpredictable. They discovered the Gestapo was “doing bad things to the people,” not the German Army.
Once in awhile, her family would hear a knock on their door and open the door to discover someone had left them a loaf of bread.
Her father began publishing an “underground newsletter” exhorting the residents of Brussels not to lose courage and “to have faith in the victory of our allies.” Her father continued to print his newsletter and the Gestapo came and searched their apartment and arrested her mother, father and brother and imprisoned them for six months.
Michaelis and her sister were left at home on their own. She said a Jewish family that lived across the street “went out of their way to help us.”
After her family members returned home, the German family moved out of their apartment building. In 1943, Jews were being rounded up arrested in Belgium, said Michaelis.
“Kids that I had been in school with all of a sudden had to wear the yellow Star of David,” she said.
Michaelis said her family began to hide Jewish families in the vacant apartment.
“We had to do it,” she said.
Her family also worked with Father Bruno Reynders, a Belgian monk, to hide Jewish children in convents. All the children used her father’s last name, said Michaelis.
“At a certain time, my father had 40 kids carrying his name,” she said. “My father was known as Roger Rabbit.”
Michaelis said she escorted Jewish people to the doctor and dentist which was a very dangerous thing to do. Two years ago, Michaelis met some of the children her family had helped hide from the Germans. Brussels was liberated from the German’s in September 1944. She recalled the German Army leaving in defeat and burning their own vehicles.
She said after the war, Belgians punished those who collaborated with the Germans by shaving their heads and taking their possessions. The Belgian police put a stop to it after a few days, said Michaelis.
After the war, Arlette worked as a translator for passengers for the Belgian airline Sabena in New York. She said Belgium had made a pact with the U.S. and was importing German war brides who had to arrive here before Dec. 31, 1947.
Michaelis said she assisted several airlines with the arrival of the war brides who were not cooperative going through the customs office. She met and married her husband, Lansing, a sales manager for the Sabena.
For a time the couple lived between New York and Cape May County, eventually settling in New Jersey.
Her book is available from Amazon.com