Inauguration of the Place Moussa et Odette Abadi
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Extracts from the speech by Marthe Kuperminc
(Abadi Child)
Madam Mayor, ladies and gentlemen, dear friends,
[…] This square dedicated to that exceptional couple, Moussa and Odette Abadi, is something we had wished for for a very long time, and thanks to the efforts of Madame Blumenthal and her team at the town hall of the 12th, we are at last seeing our wish come true…
At the end of 1942, Odette and Moussa found themselves together as refugees in Nice, then under Italian occupation… Like most people, they could have thought only of saving themselves, without worrying about others. That was not their way of seeing things. Their humanist spirit and their compassion for the distress of the Jewish refugees flocking to Nice, especially the children, forced their decision to act.
On learning of the tragic fate awaiting the Jewish children arrested by the French police or the Milice, Moussa decided, with Odette, to ask for the help of the Bishop of Nice, Monseigneur Paul Rémond. The bishop appointed Moussa, alias M. Marcel, inspector of the schools of the diocese, and Odette, alias Sylvie Delattre, social worker. Thus was born the “Marcel network”, which would save 527 Jewish children from deportation and certain death. They found support among mayors, pastors and families. With a few accomplices, they made false papers and false ration cards, indispensable at the time…
[…] It was at the convent of the Poor Clares that the children had to learn to forget their identity and learn their new civil status: new name, new place of birth. Keep the secret, don’t give yourself away. This task fell to Moussa (Monsieur Marcel), who carried it out with a heavy heart, seriously, even severely. When he judged that a child was ready, and only then, the child was sent to the town and boarding house assigned to them…
[…] Odette – Mademoiselle Sylvie Delattre – in all weathers and all seasons, travelled the roads of the Alpes-Maritimes by coach, at the risk of being arrested. She visited every child, bringing a treat or some small luxury…
[…] Sadly, at the end of April 1944, we learnt that she had been arrested by the Gestapo and deported…
[…] Modest and discreet, they told no one anything – neither about their rescue work nor about the deportation. Only the indelible tattoo on Odette’s forearm bore witness to the ordeals she had endured…
[…] Moussa left us in 1998, and Odette joined him two years later. They left us orphans a second time. Shortly afterwards, encouraged by Jeannette Wolgust, we decided to create this association, “Les Enfants & Amis Abadi”, to give them the recognition and honours they had refused all their lives.
To all those who knew them, spent time with them, esteemed them and loved them, to all of you here today: thank you.