Tribute to Claude Bloch, Holocaust survivor, who passed away on December 31, 2023

Portrait of Claude Bloch Photo Jean-Marc Lebaz, 2015, © Shoah Memorial

Born on the 1^er November 1928 in Lyon, he is raised by his mother Eliette Meyer. He lives at 46 rue Franklin, in the same building as his maternal grandparents. His mother was dismissed in 1940 from the prefecture of Lyon pursuant to the 'status of Jews'. Claude attended high school at La Martinière.

Claude Bloch was arrested by Paul Touvier, the leader of the Militia in Lyon, on June 29, 1944 with his mother and grandfather in Crépieux-la-Pape in the Rhône, where the family took refuge. His grandfather dies during his interrogation by the Gestapo.  Claude, aged 15, and his mother are interned at the Montluc prison, transferred on July 20 to the Drancy camp and deported on July 31 by convoy no. 77 to the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp. His mother is murdered. He is assigned to the Auschwitz I camp in an earthmoving commando. During the winter of 1944, he was evacuated to the Stutthof camp where he worked in a factory. He is finally released and taken in charge by the Swedish Red Cross on May 10, 1945 during a new evacuation this time by boat to the north of Germany.

Claude Bloch is driven to Sweden where he gradually recovers for two months. He meets up with France and his grandmother in Lyon on July 22, 1945.

Claude Bloch is a prominent Lyonnais figure of memory, member of many associations including the Union of Auschwitz deportees and the AFMA. He is a knight of the Legion of Honor and a commander of the Palmes académiques.

The Shoah Memorial pays tribute to the memory of Claude Bloch, humble and tireless witness of internment and deportation, and presents its sincere condolences to his family and friends.

Review the testimony of Claude Bloch, deported from France, survivor (2016)