Jewish French Resistance Fighters by Avi Heiligman

Forgotten Her es Jewish French Resistance Fighters

By Avi Heiligman

Pierre Louis-Dreyfus Sonia Olschanezky

Things were looking very bleak for Western Europe in June 1940. Germany had overrun French defenses in less than seven weeks, and parts of France came under German occupation. A French state known as Vichy France was under nominal French control by Marshal Petain, but that ended in late 1942 when Germany took over command. Right after the German victory, a collection of resistance movements started that would soon have hundreds of thousands of members. Petain and many civilians in Vichy France cooperated with the Nazis in the persecution and roundup of the Jews. However, many of the underground networks were involved in hiding the Jewish population. Many French Jews were able to escape the horrors of the Holocaust, and several joined resistance movements while under Nazi occupation.

Over half of the Jews living in France in 1940 were from other parts of Europe. Sonia Olschanezky was born in Germany. Her Russian father moved the family to France when she was seven years old. In 1942, she was arrested and was awaiting transfer to Germany where her fate would have been an extermination camp. Her mother used her contacts back in Germany to release Sonia, stating that she had “economically valuable skills.” Sonia was released but felt that she needed to do something to combat the Nazis. She was then recruited by the resistance and joined a network that was connected to the British Special Operations Executive (SOE).

For the next several months, Sonia was employed as a courier for the resistance network and was involved in some sabotage missions. One of her missions included blowing up a German munitions train south of Paris.

The resistance network soon collapsed, and she was captured by the Gestapo and later executed in 1944. Her actions during the war prompted both the British and French to honor her legacy.

Pierre Louis-Dreyfus was a prime candidate for resistance work due to his military background. He was born in 1908 to a wealthy, well-connected Jewish family in Paris. He became an officer in the 6th Dragoons after attending cavalry school. He served in the military for about a year and then joined the family business until 1939. When war was about to break out in 1939, he rejoined the military as a lieutenant in the 2nd Dragoons, earning two citations for actions early in the war. After France surrendered to the Nazis, Louis-Dreyfus was discharged and in 1941 came in contact with the French resistance. His responsibilities included coordinating the different resistance movements in Southern France.

The Gestapo became interested in Louis-Dreyfus, and in December 1942, he escaped to England via a circuitous route through Spain and Ireland. There, he joined the 1st Free French Division in Africa and became the liaison officer for the 51st Division Scottish Highlanders. Later, he became a machine gunner in a Free French bomber squadron in the Royal Air Force. His first actions on the Western Front were in July 1944 and continued until the end of the war.

Louis-Dreyfus flew on 81 missions, racking up four more citations and achieved the rank of captain.

Getting accurate information to the French population so that they could know what was actually happening in the war was a task that many networks tried to address. One of the founders of an underground network was Jewish resistance member Suzanne Feingold. Under her guidance, they published thirteen newspapers before the network was disbanded in 1942. She continued her clandestine work under a pseudonym for the rest of the war.

Another foreign-born female resistance fighter was the tenacious Cecile Cerf. Born in Vilna, she moved to Paris in 1932, got married, and had a child. After her husband became a prisoner of war, she disregarded the danger of fighting the Nazis and joined a large armed resistance movement. Her responsibilities grew over time to include working as a liaison, finding housing for the resistance fighters, supplying the groups, and, at times, sabotage. This was evident in January 1944 when a train of enemy soldiers derailed in her area of operations. She was also involved in saving Jewish children who were trying to escape the horrors of the Holocaust. Later in the war, she helped recruit other female agents and set up an underground printing press.

One of the specialties that the resistance had several experts partake in was forging passports and documents. Adolfo Kaminsky was from a Jewish family in Argentina and became one of the underground’s best forgers. His family had moved to France, and throughout his youth he enjoyed the chemistry of dyes and colorants. After his mother was killed, he joined the resistance. Adolfo then began forging papers for Jewish refugees and citizens, starting with papers for his father. He then hooked up with a resistance network

Adolfo Kaminsky

Documents forged by Adolfo Kaminsky

that was having difficulties with ink stains. This led Kaminsky to start a lab in which he created papers that saved the lives of 14,000 Jews.

Liberation came to Paris in August 1944 and Kaminsky then joined the French Army that fought their way into Germany with the rest of the Western allies. After the war, he forged documents for Jewish refugees seeking a way into the British Mandate of Palestine that soon was to become Israel.

In 1942, a resistance group called Armée Juive, or Jewish Army, was created in Toulouse. It was founded by Russian-born Abraham Polonski. The first members were recruited from a group led by Rabbi Paul (Pinchus) Roitman. Over 2,000 members joined the movement, and they helped many Jews escape the Nazi occupation. Roitman was arrested by the Gestapo during a mission. On the night of Purim, he was released following his brother’s intervention.

The stories of Jewish underground fighters are numerous, but many ended with tragedy. Knowing the danger of operating as a Jew in a Nazi-occupied zone was not for everyone but those who fought did so with determination to defeat the Nazis.

Many of the men and women who worked as resistance members are rarely talked about, making them truly forgotten heroes.

Avi Heiligman is a weekly contributor to The Jewish Home. He welcomes your comments and suggestions for future columns and can be reached at aviheiligman@gmail.com.

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