Deportation, Jewish resistance, the Righteous, passing on
May 17, 2016
On May 10, Les Enfants et Amis Abadi, hosted by the town hall of the 3rd arrondissement of Paris, organised a conference around four themes:
- Deportation
- Jewish resistance
- The Righteous
- Passing on
The town hall of the 3rd had kindly made its auditorium and sound equipment available for the event. All this was made possible thanks to the support of Pierre Aidenbaum, Mayor of the 3rd arrondissement of Paris.
The panels presenting the history of the Marcel network and the biographies of its protagonists had been set up in the hall.
Andrée Poch-Karsenti, a hidden child and President of the association “Les Enfants et Amis Abadi”, introduced the conference, pointing out that it was taking place as part of the Commemoration of the memory of the deportation. Katy Hazan (OSE), historian, moderated the event throughout the afternoon. Her knowledge of the history of the Shoah made her a well-qualified and passionate host.
Natacha Karsenti, Aude de Saint-Loup, Katy Hazan, Catherine Jourdan, Andrée Poch-Karsenti
To open the conference, Catherine Jourdan gave an accurate and sensitive biography of Odette Abadi, née Rosenstock. She recalled her commitment to working for children throughout her life, both as a doctor and through her work alongside Moussa Abadi in creating the Marcel network.
Katy Hazan, Catherine Jourdan
Aude de Saint-Loup (historian and former head of the Cours Morvan in Paris) presented a detailed study of the different camps and their differences.
Aude de Saint-Loup, Katy Hazan
To illustrate this presentation, a filmed interview with Odette Abadi was shown. “Odette Abadi raconte Auschwitz” comes from a collection of 14 testimonies recorded by Annette Wieviorka.
Natacha Karsenti, daughter of a hidden child, read several passages from Odette Abadi’s book “Terre de détresse”.
Natacha Karsenti, Aude de Saint-Loup
Katy Hazan briefly set aside her role as mistress of ceremonies to give her historian’s perspective on the various Jewish resistance networks. She described how these networks were organised and the commitment of their founders and protagonists. On this occasion, Victor Kuperminc, treasurer of the association Les Enfants et Amis Abadi, spoke on a subject often neglected: the funding of the networks. In particular, he described the essential role of the Joint, an American organisation, in funding the Marcel network. In France, the distribution of funds was organised by Maurice Brener. His son Thierry honoured the conference with his presence. Thierry Brener told how his father had always kept silent about his activities, and how he himself had only discovered them very recently. Even so, his emotion was palpable.
Victor Kuperminc, Thierry Brener, Katy Hazan, Catherine Jourdan
Michèle Merowka (AMEJDAM) then spoke about the Righteous Among the Nations for their action within the Marcel network. She presented in turn: Monseigneur Rémond, Don Penitenti, Father Michel Blain, Father Vincent Siméoni, Sister Joséphine Chopin, Father Pierre Roubaudi, the Poor Clare sisters, Pastor Edmond Evrard, his wife Ilda, their son Daniel, Pastor Pierre Gagnier and his wife Hélène, Alban and Germaine Fort, Yvonne and Philippe Roques, Jeanne and Jean Rous, Henri and Berthe Collato. Armand Herscovici told his story as a child hidden by the Collato family. Michèle Merowka concluded by recalling the acts of recognition carried out over the past 15 years: a plaque at the bishop’s house in Nice, a square in Paris named after Odette and Moussa Abadi…
Armand Herscovici, Katy Hazan, Michèle Merowka
Finally Norbert Wolgust and Emmanuel Gagnier, respectively the child of a hidden child and the grandson of Righteous, spoke about passing on, especially to the youngest generations. They described why it is necessary to pass on the history of the Shoah today, and how to do so. Remembrance work and digital media were the key words of their talk.
Emmanuel Gagnier, Katy Hazan, Norbert Wolgust
Several people in the audience contributed to the various subjects by sharing parts of their own stories and anecdotes, or by setting their views against those of the speakers.
The conference took place before an audience largely made up of people loyal to the association or to the history of the Shoah. This somewhat community-based attendance invites reflection on the theme that closed the conference: passing on. How can we keep passing on this history, and the values we want it to carry, to a new audience?