Monique Hauptman was born on October 6, 1942 in Brussels, Belgium to Sara and Nathan Hauptman during the German occupation of Belgium. Sara began working for the Belgian resistance making false papers for downed pilots, and she and Monique hid with non-Jewish friends for a time. But after a near discovery by the Nazis during a home inspection, in which Sara and Monique hid in the basement of her friend’s home, Sara decided it was too dangerous to keep her children with her. She entrusted Monique and her older brother Guy to her former nanny.
When Monique was nine months old, her nanny, Catherine, took her to live in a ranching community outside Brussels. Both of her parents were arrested and sent to concentration camps. Monique’s brother, Guy, was hidden as well but in a separate location. Monique remained hidden until her parents returned from Dachau in 1945 at the end of the war. Monique and Guy temporarily lived in a children’s home in Brussels while awaiting the family’s immigration. They then moved to Frankfurt, Germany, where the family was scheduled for immigration to the United States. In May 1951, the Hauptmans left Europe for the U.S. and eventually settled in El Paso.
Monique grew up in El Paso and became a U.S. citizen. She graduated from high school in El Paso then moved to Colorado, where she worked. Monique died on February 28, 1983 in Colorado Springs and is survived by her son, Michael.
Connecting Stories: Guy Hauptman, Nathan Hauptman, Sara Hauptman