Tribute to Simon Gutman, who passed away this Monday, October 5

The Shoah Memorial honors the memory of Simon Gutman and offers its condolences to his family and friends.

Photo Jean-Marc Lebaz/Memorial de la Shoah

Simon (Szmul) Gutman

was born on 20/07/1923 in Warsaw (Poland) to a traditional Jewish family of modest means. He is the son of David Gutman and Cyma born Rosman. In 1929, the whole family emigrates to Paris. Simon Gutman is a tailor, like his father. He lives at 24, rue Vilain in Paris with his parents, and his six brothers and sisters.

He was arrested during a raid by the French police on 10/17/1941 and interned at the Drancy camp. He was deported by the first convoy from the Drancy and Compiègne camps on 27/03/1942 to the Auschwitz camp.

His whole family was also deported during the year 1942: his brother Mordka by convoy 4, his father David by convoy 12, his brother Szrul and his sister Chana by convoy 15, his mother Cyma, his brother Isaac and his sister Bella by convoi 23. At the Auschwitz camp, Simon’s registration number is 27815. He works in the kitchens. Simon finds his father at Auschwitz, and manages to protect him.

In October 1944, he is transferred to the Stutthof camp, then to other camps and takes part in the death marches from which he escapes with 4 comrades. Left to their own devices, they ended up crossing a column of the 2nd DB in April 1945. He was repatriated to France on 28/04/1945. Of all his family, only he and his father survived the deportation. Of the first convoy that included 1112 Jews deported from France, almost all were murdered, only 22 people, including Simon Gutman, returned from deportation in 1945.

Simon Gutman was the last survivor of this first convoy.

Photo: portrait of Simon Gutman after the war

Memorial of the Shoah/coll. Simon Gutman

Find the testimony of Simon Gutman that the Memorial collected in 2013: