Dina Eliezer
In a picturesque setting in the south of France, I met a person who inspired me to share with you a story.
Many stories have been told about surviving the Holocaust and about those who did not. Every one of them is unique, moving and a testimonial to courage, determination and sometimes just good luck.
Many of the survivors chose to keep silent; others followed the call to “Remember and never forget” and told their stories.
Jacques Isidor Levy had a survival story. This is, however, not the story I want to share with you. He tells it much better in his book Itinéraire d’un enfant cache …” Amazon.com: Itinéraire d’un enfant caché… (French Edition) eBook : Lévy, Jacques Isidore: Kindle Store).
Jacques was silent for many years; however, 20 years ago, he decided to tell his story by way of action. God created a world with speech – “Vayommer,” however, when He created man and said “Na’ase” – “let’s make,” it’s when He established His presence and the notion of and need to “remember.” He was not alone.
Jacques and his brothers were among hundreds of hidden children during the Holocaust who survived but lost their parents and younger siblings. Approximately 20 years ago, Jacques and four other friends, who also were hidden children during World War II, created what translates to The Association for the Memory of the Deported Jewish Children, or AMEJD. They wanted to make sure that, although they were saved, many others who didn’t must not be forgotten.
Many meetings and brainstorming discussions took place, generating ideas such as making a monument, dedicating special spaces in the city and more. All those, however, were not satisfying.
Their desire to do something special and unique led to the decision to post the names of the children who lived in all the districts of Paris on the walls of the schools they attended and to which they couldn’t return only because they were Jewish.
This mammoth project began with the collection of the 6,200 names of children who were deported from Paris. Serge Klarsfeld, a Nazi hunter who made notable efforts to commemorate the Jewish victims, compiled in a book, “Le Mémorial des Enfants Juifs Déportés de France,” the names and records of all the children who were killed in the Holocaust. Jacques and his friends used the records from that book to execute their project.
With the list and records of the children, Jacques and his friends approached the mayor of Paris and the mayors of the various districts. They needed to get permission to match those names with each school’s records. Getting into the archives of the schools and preparing the lists required additional assistance, which came from many volunteers that joined the AMEJD.
Most of the districts’ schools were cooperative and, one after another, totaling approximately 600, schools in Paris were preparing ceremonies acknowledging the new commemorative inscriptions on the plaques posted on their walls. The outside walls of the schools had plaques with the inscription:
In memory of the students at this school who were deported between 1942 and 1944 because they were Jewish, innocent victims of the Nazi savagery with accordance of the Vichy government.
Inside the schools, on the walls, there were additional plaques that had the names of the children and their ages. Each ceremony, attended by the students, teachers and, occasionally, some distinguished guests, included a personal testimonial of a survivor.
While this project was going on, Jacques and his friends realized that many younger children did not attend school and should be remembered as well. Jacque’s 3-year-old sister Raymonde was on that list of names.
For them, a monument with the children’s names was placed in numerous districts’ playgrounds and parks. One of Jacque’s biggest accomplishments was permission from the 19th District mayor to put a monument in the Parc des Buttes Chaumont. Opened in 1867, late in the regime of Napoleon III, this park kept its original setting and the monument with the children’s names was the first new addition to the park.
A name is the quintessential representation of a human being’s identity. By posting the names, those children are being given their distinct identities as human beings as it is said in Isaiah 56:5 “Even unto them will I give in My house and within My walls a monument and a memorial … that shall not be cut off.” The words “monument and a memorial” are a translation from Hebrew of the words: Yad (monument) and shem (name).
“I know now that those children will never be forgotten,” says Jacques, “even if only few kids, teachers or parents stop by the plaques to read the names occasionally, it is still better than no one.”