Two Brussels residents were posthumously awarded the honorary title of 'Righteous Among the Nations' by the Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Centre, on Tuesday for hiding a Jewish family during the Second World War.
Armand Pelast, who ran an ironwork business, and his sister Henriette resided in the peaceful municipality of Woluwe-Saint-Pierre. In 1942, they risked their own lives to save a Jewish couple and their child after a chance encounter.
At the ceremony held on Tuesday, Hadassah Aisenstark, Deputy Chief of Mission of the Israeli Embassy, recognised the Pelast siblings as 'Righteous Among the Nations' for rescuing the family “from deportation and certain death.” She certified the honour to their great-grandchildren, Amaury and Émilien De Smet.
“Today, we honour two individuals who viewed their actions not as an act of bravery, but as the most fundamental moral duty. This makes them true heroes,” Aisenstark said.
The Yad Vashem Memorial currently recognises more than 1,700 Belgians with the title 'Righteous Among the Nations.' The title honours non-Jewish individuals who helped Jews at the risk of their own lives. Of these, almost 500 resided in Brussels during the war.
“This honorary title is symbolic; it reminds us that across peoples, religions, beliefs, and camps, confronting fears and believing in the ‘Other’ inspires growth and the saving of lives,” Amaury De Smet stressed.
Benoît Cerexhe, Mayor of Woluwe-Saint-Pierre, was present at the ceremony.
