Tribute to Maurice Szwarc, survivor of the Holocaust, who died on November 17, 2020

Photo: Maurice Szwarc, the day before his arrest in February 1944. He will be deported with this clothing. Original, Shoah Memorial

Maurice Szwarc

was born on March 22, 1923, in the 12th arrondissement of Paris. Originally from Poland, his parents settled in France after the First World War. His father works as a tailor before becoming the owner of a clothing shop in Saint-Denis. The family resides in the Marais district in Paris. After the study certificate, he begins training to become a tailor in turn.

At the beginning of the Second World War, Maurice and his parents settled in Saint-Etienne. On January 27, 1944, he returns home for lunch, where he finds his mother, aunt, and uncle. The Gestapo carries out a raid and arrests them. His father, who is not there, is arrested shortly afterwards.

All are taken to the headquarters of the Gestapo where they spend the night, then are transferred to the prison of Montluc in Lyon. They are then transferred and interned in the Drancy camp. On April 13, 1944, the family was deported by convoy 71, from the Bobigny station to the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp. Upon arrival, his father, his uncle and him join the camp. His mother is immediately assassinated. Maurice will then be able to stay throughout his deportation with his father, which saves his life as he will forcefully remind. They will notably be assigned to the annex camps of Blechhammer and Discowitz.

They were liberated on January 27, 1945 by the Soviet army. His father immediately decides to go to his village of origin and dies in a car accident. Maurice is repatriated to France via Odessa. He arrives in Marseille on April 5, 1945 and returns to Paris. He is an orphan. With his uncle, who also survived, he has difficulty recovering the store stolen during the war and will work there all his professional life.

Photo: Maurice Szwarc at the Shoah Memorial during the commemoration of January 27, 2015. Original, Shoah Memorial

All our thoughts go to his two sons Patrice and Didier, to his family and loved ones, to whom we extend our sincere condolences.