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

Photo: Maurice Szwarc, the day before his arrest in February 1944. He will be deported with this garment. 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 worked as a tailor before becoming the owner of a clothing shop in Saint-Denis. The family lives in the Marais district of Paris. After obtaining his certificate, he begins training to become a tailor.

At the beginning of the Second World War, Maurice and his parents settled in Saint-Etienne. On January 27, 1944, he returned home for lunch, where he found his mother, aunt and uncle. The Gestapo raided them and arrested them. His father, who is not here, is arrested shortly after.

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

They were liberated on 27 January 1945 by the Soviet army. His father immediately decided to go to his home village and died in a car accident. Maurice was repatriated to France via Odessa. He arrived in Marseille on April 5, 1945 and returned to Paris. He was an orphan. With his uncle, who also survived, he had difficulty in recovering the store that had been looted during the war and would spend his entire professional life there.

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

Our thoughts are with his two sons, Patrice and Didier, his family and loved ones, to whom we extend our sincere condolences.