Simon Gronowski

Simon Gronowski (born October 12, 1931) is a Doctor of Law, from the Université libre de Bruxelles, a jazz pianist, and the president of the Union of Jewish deportees in Belgium.

Gronowski was born in Brussels, and survived the Holocaust by escaping deportation in Convoy No. 20 train, on 19 April 1943, which would have taken him to Auschwitz. The photo is of a board commemorating this.

Transport XX memorial board at Zoutleeuw, Belgium, taken May 2020

He then lived through the rest of the war in hiding, with his father .

PUSH Opera[]

In 2014, Simon Gronowski met British composer Howard Moody at a performance of his opera Sinbad at La Monnaie Opera House in Brussels; Simon Gronowski told the composer the story of his escape and life and ended with the phrase "Ma Vie N'est Que Miracles". Moody was so moved he promised to write his next opera about Simon that night. His opera PUSH tells the story of Simon's escape from the 20th Convoy Train on April 19, 1943 and how his mother pushed Simon off the train. The opera PUSH was premiered in Bexhill, England at the De La Warr Pavillion after being commissioned by the Battle Festival; It was a co production with Glyndebourne Opera and was created as a community opera, involving local schools and amateur singers as well as professional opera singers. Simon Gronowski attended the premiere. PUSH was later performed in Salisbury 2017 and Chichester 2018. After an invitation from The House of Commons, PUSH was performed on January 27 to mark Holocaust Memorial Day in 2018, where Simon Gronowski was a special guest. IN March 2019, PUSH premiered in Brussels at La Monnaie Opera House and was performed in the presence of King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium. During the lockdown 2020, singers from all four casts in Belgium and UK recorded their parts to create a virtual giant choir. The film was edited by Shogo Hino and featured over 150 opera singers. ^{[1] [2] [3][4]}

References[]

This article incorporates information from the French Wikipedia.

External links[]

• Althea Williams, Sarah Ehrlich (19 April 2013). "Escaping the train to Auschwitz". BBC News. Retrieved 22 April 2013.