At the start of the war, Gilbert's father disappeared to work in the underground resistance, but Gilbert was not told where his father had gone. Gilbert was playing in the street with a friend when the Gestapo stopped a car and summoned him to bring them to his mother. His mother at the moment was with Hungarian Jewish friends; therefore, the Gestapo didn't arrest them because Hungary was part of the Axis. This event created an intense feeling of guilt for Gilbert, in addition to a sense of insecurity that he experienced everywhere in Brussels from then on.
Around the beginning of 1943, Gilbert was placed and hid in Pas de Calais, in the North of France, with a cousin's family related to his father. He spent a year and a half there, and although he was treated well, he says that he missed his parents—and more specifically, his mother—terribly. In his testimony, he expresses feeling “less than a child but more than a guest” in this family.
Michel was initially placed with a family in Anderlecht for a few months. During his interview, he mentioned that simple tasks, such as washing in front of the whole family using a basin, were challenging for him. Later, the entire family went into hiding in Uccles. Michel described how he survived by eating beechnuts from the nearby forest.
He was then placed alone in the Ardennes, at a children's camp. Michel was the only hidden Jew in the camp.
In December 1944, the Americans liberated this part of Belgium, leading to the closure of the camp. While other children were able to reunite with their families, Michel couldn’t. Lisette Mulenaert, one of the camp’s maids, took him into her family near Verviers until his father came to take him back home.