Noemi Kraut was born in Antwerp, Belgium into a Jewish family of active Zionists who worked in the diamond trade. After the invasion of Belgium by the Germans in 1940, Noemi’s parents planned their escape from Antwerp to London, England. They left Antwerp with two small suitcases and young Noemi to the coast of Belgium where they got rides on military trucks crossing into France. Travelling up and down the coast of Belgium and France they were looking for a ship that would take them to England. Ultimately, an Egyptian sailor took pity on them, and convinced his captain to allow them to board a freighter destined for the U.S.. Noemi and her parents disembarked in England where they lived until the war was over.
