February 9, 1943 – The roundup of rue Sainte-Catherine in Lyon that day

It is a trap that the Nazis are setting at 12 Rue Sainte-Catherine, headquarters of the Federation of Jewish Societies of France and the Committeé for Assistance to Refugees, gathered within the General Union of Israelites of France. The Gestapo waited several hours on site to arrest as many people, employees and those who came to the premises as possible.

First imprisoned at Fort Lamothe, the group was transferred to the Drancy camp on 12 February. On the spot, there are in particular the victims of the roundup of the department of the Seine from 10 and 11 February, operated by the French police at the initiative of the German authorities. For many of them, these are elderly people and children who are cared for in homes and hospices, particularly those run by the Rothschild Foundation.

Of the 86 Jews rounded up in Lyon, 80 were deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau, Sobibor and Bergen-Belsen. The youngest was 13 years old. Among them is Simon Badinter, the father of Robert Badinter.

In 1945, there are still 4 survivors including Gilberte Jacob and Malvine Lanzet who testify during the trial against Klaus Barbie in 1987. A plaque was affixed at 12 Rue Sainte-Catherine in 2011 by the association of the Sons and Daughters of the Jewish Deportees of France.

Photos:
– Robert Bloch and Henriette Brunswick photographed on the day of their engagement and posing with Emmanuel and Rosine Bloch and the young Arlette Bloch, Rue de Lunaret, Montpellier (Hérault). France, summer 1933
Credit: Shoah Memorial/Roselyne Bloch Coll.

– Henriette Brunswick, Robert Bloch, Rosine Bloch, Emmanuel Bloch with the young Arlette Bloch

– Portrait of Henri Rosensweig
Credit: Shoah Memorial / Henry Bulawko Coll.

– Portrait of Aurélie Gottlieb née Polturak. France, pre-war.
Credit: Shoah Memorial/Esther Charrin Collection