” A small microscopic Coronavirus succeeded where the entire Nazi army had failed. My father had survived the Death March. But today his March of Life ended.
He had just celebrated his 94th birthday, confined to L’Heureux Séjour in Brussels, a wonderful home where he was surrounded, cared for, appreciated and loved. “
This message posted on the Internet has gone around the world and caused great emotion. Written by the illustrator and cartoonist Michel Kichka, now based in Jerusalem where he teaches, it is dedicated to Henri Kichka, an emblematic figure of the Jewish community martyred by the Germans.
This humble and discreet man is the only one of his family to have survived the deportation of the Jews of Belgium. After years of silence, he finally agreed, in the early 1980s, to testify to the younger generation and thus fulfill the indispensable duty of remembrance which he had always refused to do until then. He even published a book in 2005, with a preface by Serge Klarsfeld, which recounts his incredible ordeal when he was still a teenager.
The story and commitment of Henri Kishka will be told in an animated film, adapted from a comic book by his son. Named ” Les Secrets de mon père “, this feature film is currently in preparation and will be partly produced at Waooh Studios in Liège with the support of Wallimage, committed alongside the French and Belgian producers, Je suis bien content and Left Field Ventures.
