Exodus From Belgium in 1940

About the Book

EXODUS FROM BELGIUM IN 1940 – A SYNOPSIS This book chronicles the escape of a Jewish Belgian family, the Bornsteins, from the onslaught of an invading German army at the start of World War II. After a perilous journey through France, Spain, and Portugal, and a brief stay in New York, they found safety in British Guiana (now Guyana), where Dr. Bornstein was Chief Physician at a Tuberculosis Hospital in Vreed en Hoop, across the Demerara River from Georgetown. Paul and Viviane Bornstein were educated in the British tradition and experienced interesting encounters in this unusual environment. At the end of the War, the family emigrated to the United States, where the children established new lives.

About the Author

Paul Bornstein was born on July 10, 1934 in Antwerp, Belgium. He had a pleasant and normal childhood until the German invasion in 1940. Since the family was Jewish, his father, a physician, felt that it was imperative to leave the country as soon as possible. Fortunately, his father owned a DeSoto, a large and dependable car. Over a weekend, his parents, together with a brother of his father, his Uncle Henry, loaded the car as much as possible and drove in the direction of Dunkirk on the English Channel. Since there was no room for his uncle, he rode on the running board. The initial intent was to obtain a passage on one of the many ships crossing the channel. However it soon became apparent that this was unrealistic, His father therefore changed course and headed for the Bordeaux region in southern region of France. There we discovered that passage was available only for passengers with English passports. Paul’s family therefore parted from his uncle and drove through Spain and Portugal to Lisbon where they were able to obtain passage to New York. Because Paul’s family was allowed to stay in the US for only a short period of time, Paul’s father was obliged to contact another brother of his who lived in British Guiana, now named Guyana, and to obtain permission for the family to move there. While adjustment to life in British Guiana was initially difficult, particularly when the family moved across the Demerara river to live adjacent to a Tuberculosis Sanatorium where Dr. Bornstein was appointed as Superintendent. Paul and his sister learned many skills in dealing with the snakes and alligators that frequented the roads adjacent to the hospital. After much debate as to whether to return to Belgium after the war, or to emigrate to the United States, his parents chose the latter country. After attending three different high schools in three years in Brooklyn, Paul graduated from Cornell University with a major in chemistry in 1954, and went on to Medical School at New York University, from which he graduated with an M.D. degree in 1958. He completed a medical residency at Yale University and spent a year at the Pasteur Institute in Paris. During the war in Vietnam, Paul was inducted into the Coast Guard but was fortunate to spend almost all his time performing biochemical research at the National Institutes of Health. In 1967 Paul accepted a position as Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Washington. As his interests in the basic sciences increased, his appointment was changed to a joint appointment with the Department of Biochemistry. In 2007 Paul retired as Professor Emeritus and now lives in Santa Fe with his wife, Helene Sage.