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[Velo…] drome d'Hiver." A majority of the
prelates, however, are opposed to making their protest public, and the letter
is not read in churches but is communicated to the priesthood.
French
police raids target stateless and foreign Jews in other parts of the Occupied
Zone. The roundup in the Marne and Aube departments is ordered by Count Modest
von Korff, SiPo-SD commander in Chalons-sur-Marne; 43 Jews are captured in the
Chalons area and are transferred to Drancy on July 25 for deportation.
The captives include a couple, Mordka and Bayla Rozen, from Lodz,
Poland. They have lived in Saint Dizier, where he is a tailor, for more than
ten years and have two young daughters, Colette, 10, and Annette, 2. Immediately before their arrest
they have entrusted their children to two non-Jewish families. The father, ill,
could avoid transfer to Drancy but chooses to go with his wife, as he explains
in the letter he secretly sends his daughters. His voice, his despair, and his
tenacious hope can be heard through his awkward style. Deported on July 27, the
Rozens do not return. (Colette arrested on January 27, 1944, at the age of 12,
in turn wrote a last letter, this one to her adoptive family. The letter is
included in the entry for the date she was arrested. Colette did not survive;
she was killed at Auschwitz, and her sister Annette was the only member of the
family left alive.)
My Dear Little Colette and Annette,
As you see, your Maman and myself are already a little bit far away. A
very evil fate that you later will understand much better has separated us from
you and our tiny Annette, who doesn't understand yet much of anything. Keep
this letter as a holy thing, because we don't know when we again can write you,
and this will be your memory of your Papa and Maman that you love so much.
Dear Colette, when I said goodbye to you at the hospital I thought I
could return, only to do that Maman would have to leave all alone, and that I
couldn't do, seen that dear Mama was in so much pain and so I chose the path
together that will allow us to bear the pain of losing you for this little
moment.
Dear girls, and you Colette, above all be strong and brave, our
forced separation will end one day and we will have the pleasure of kissing you
and squeezing you tight in our warm arms. Meanwhile, be happy in the new
situation.
I beg you Colette to understand and to become a sweet polite
kid and stay on the right path. Be a hard worker in general and above all get
your education so that you can have a future.
July 31,
1942. At a meeting in Vichy, Premier Laval informs the cabinet that "the
problem of the children has been settled; the children will be returned to
their families between August 8 and 12." The statement is made on the day when,
for the first time, regular French police at the Pithiviers camp separate 150
Jewish mothers from their children aged 2 to 15 and deport the mothers.
August 3, 1942. Jean Leguay writes a hypocritical note to the
prefect of the Orléans region. It seems evident that, informed by German
security police of the coming children's deportations, the Prefecture has asked
for instructions because it faces the duty of separating more than 2,000
mothers from children who soon will be deported as well. Why not, the
Prefecture asks, deport mothers and children together?
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FRENCH
CHILDREN OF THE HOLOCAUST A memorial
Serge Klarsfeld
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