Simon Gronowski

Simon Gronowski (born October 12, 1931) is a Belgian jazz pianist. He serves as president of the Union of Jewish deportees in Belgium.

Gronowski was born in Brussels, and survived the Holocaust by escaping deportation in the attack on the twentieth convoy, on 19 April 1943, which would have taken him to Auschwitz. He then lived through the rest of the war in hiding with his father, Léon Gronowski.

Gronowski holds a Doctor of Law degree from the Free University of Brussels.

PUSH opera


In 2014, Gronowski met British composer Howard Moody at a performance of his opera Sinbad at La Monnaie Opera House in Brussels; Gronowski told the composer the story of his escape and life and ended with the phrase "ma vie n'est que miracles" (my life is nothing but miracles). Moody was so moved that he promised to write his next opera about Gronowski that night. His opera PUSH tells the story of Gronowski's escape from the twentieth convoy train on 19 April 1943, and how his mother pushed Gronowski off the train.

The opera was premiered in Bexhill, England, at the De La Warr Pavilion after being commissioned by the Battle Festival. Gronowski attended the premiere. After an invitation from the House of Commons, PUSH was performed on 27 January 2018 to mark Holocaust Memorial Day, where Gronowski was a special guest.