Holocaust survivor speaks about World War II at Penn Hillel

A Holocaust survivor spoke to the Penn community at Penn Hillel on Nov. 12. 

Harry Pila, the author of "The Journey of a Hidden Child," shared a firsthand account of his childhood during World War II. Over 85 community members attended the event, which was organized by College junior and Hillel Vice President of Engagement Ethan Farber. 

Pila was born in Nazi-occupied Belgium in 1941. He recounted how, at the age of six weeks old, his parents hid him with their close non-Jewish friends, Gerard and Germaine Decraene. Gerard was a double agent who collected information from the Nazis for the British. 

“[Gerard] had a transmitter under the coal cell because in those days in Europe, coal was what was being used for cooking and for eating. And he would transmit information to England during the night, and he would entertain Nazi officers in the house with me there,” Pila said. 

To conceal Pila from the Nazis who would enter their home, the Decraenes disguised him as a Christian girl for several years. 

 “They dressed me in a dress, and I became a girl for the next couple of years," Pila explained. "Instead of Jean Pierre, which was my original name, I became Jeannette.”

Pila also recalled when the Nazis arrested his parents and aunt and sent them to the Auschwitz concentration camp. His father was killed in Auschwitz towards the end of the war, while his mother and aunt survived and returned to Belgium. Pila initially rejected his biological mother when she returned, believing that the Decraenes were his real parents. 

Pila said he had “a generally happy childhood,” unlike many other Holocaust survivors. After the war, he went to school in Belgium until moving to Fort Worth, Texas with his mother and stepfather in 1954. He is an active member of the Holocaust Council of Metrowest, N.J.

During the Q&A session, Pila said that he saw similarities between people’s denial of the Holocaust and people’s denial of the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel.

“I think that young people, not only in our country, but in other countries, have been brainwashed primarily because there are professors in the schools who themselves deny the Holocaust,” he said. “I don't think that either politics, or any kind of situation like that, should be brought up in classes, unless it's a class about the Holocaust. Professors should stick to the matter that they're supposed to teach, not express their personal opinions.”

Pila showcased his book "The Journey of a Hidden Child" that he co-authored with Holocaust researcher Robin Black in 2022. Copies of the book were offered for sale at the event.

“​​I originally wrote the manuscript so that my grandchildren and eventually their children would know about their family, about what had happened with the Holocaust," Pila said. "But with all the antisemitism that's going on, I decided to have it published because there are so many deniers these days that say it didn't happen and so on and so forth."

The event ended with a standing ovation for Pila. 

In an interview with The Daily Pennsylvanian, Pila spoke about the importance of young people learning about the Holocaust and about Israel’s role in the Israel-Hamas war. 

“I feel that it's very important for young people to know about the Holocaust and to know about what's going on in Israel today, and not to believe a lot of the stuff that's in primarily the ultra-left publications," Pila said. 

He emphasized the importance of young people knowing about the Holocaust "so that it doesn't happen again to any group."

"Whether Jewish, whether not Jewish, it shouldn't happen to anybody," Pila said.

Farber expressed gratitude towards the people who came to the event. 

“That standing ovation brought a tear to my eye. To be able to share what happened to my family with the rest of the Penn Hillel community is really special,” Farber said. “I had some of my friends who are not Jewish come as well, to then take that initiative to learn about the Holocaust, it's meant the world. It shows that there's support and strength.”