Childhood friends who survived Holocaust reunited after 76 years

Two childhood friends in Brussels who lost contact during the Nazi round-up of Jews in the second world war have been reunited for the first time, 76 years later.

Alice Gertsel and Simon Gronowski grew up together until October 1941 when their families had to flee Brussels.

Gertsel and her mother spent some time hiding in the Gronowski family's house before escaping occupied Belgium. Gronowski and his family stayed, but after 18 months of hiding were deported to Auschwitz where his mother and sister died. He managed to jump off the train that was sending them to their death.

The destinies of these two childhood friends were unknown to one another. After surviving the tragic years of war, they assumed the other had perished in a camp, like many other members of the Jewish community at the time.

Now, after 76 years, the pair have had an emotional reunion at an event organised at the Holocaust Museum in Los Angeles last week.

"It is fantastic. After such a long time, it is fantastic," 86-year-old Gronowski said with tears in his eyes. They each still had photographs of themselves and their families from the 1930s and early 1940s.

"This man, I don’t know who he is, but Little Simon lives in him," Gertsel, now 89, said with a laugh.