Born:
Łódź, Poland
September 27, 1911
David Konstat was born in Łódź, Poland at a time when the city belonged to the Russian Empire. His father fought with the Russian army during World War I (1914-1918). After the war, Poland gained its independence. In 1926 the family emigrated to France where Konstat’s father worked as a watchmaker. A few years later the family moved again, this time to Belgium, where there was a larger Jewish community.
When he was 17 years old, Konstat’s father died and Konstat began to establish himself as a jeweler in Brussels. One of his brothers emigrated to the United States and the other two moved to Mexico. In 1936, Konstat used a necessary sinus surgery to also have his nose changed to appear less stereotypically Jewish—a procedure he later credited with helping save his life.
After Germany and the Soviet Union invaded Poland in 1939, Konstat sent his mother to Mexico to live with her two sons. All Polish citizens living in non-occupied countries, including Belgium, were required to join the Polish army in exile. At one point Konstat was caught by a German patrol at a French railway station. His ability to speak both German and French allowed him to pass as German and he began to work as a translator for the German army. Eventually he was appointed as the general interpreter for Western France with 72 Nazis under his command.
Meanwhile, Konstat was working for the French underground resistance. He was able to secure a French passport and finally, in 1941, left Europe for the United States. From there he went to join the rest of his family in Mexico where he continued to work as a jeweler. Konstat met his wife, Fini Vogel, a Holocaust survivor from Vienna, Austria. The couple married in 1947 and had three children. They later moved to Houston.
Parents:
Michael Konstat, d. Belgium, 1929
Esther Markowicz Konstat, survived
Siblings:
Eddie Konstat, survived
Israel Konstat, survived
Henry Konstat, survived