Sad, but needs to be said...

it's really early, but i can't fall back asleep without wishing my great-grandmother Marie a happy birthday. she was supposed to be 98 years old today. unfortunately she never got to see past 30.

a few days ago was the 65th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. I guess this makes it the perfect time to blog about the Holocaust and remember all of those close to me that survived and passed during that horrific time.

I don't really like to think about it too hard. it makes it too sad. but i have heard all the stories from my three grandparents who survived. my grandmother Cosette tells her stories like they are ghost stories; creepy low voices, random shouts and crazy hand movements and wittiness, making it seem like fiction. My grandfather Léon always tears up when he talks about it, and my most mellow grandfather Thierry doesn't talk about it at all, but I know what happened anyways. Being the only Jew at school, my grandparents used to come into school and tell all the kids about it. I always had such a sense of pride for my race during this time. Like my grandfather said one time, all of us as Jews may have been down, but we survived, and we are all lucky to still be here today. It's hard to find a European Jew who didn't have many of their family members killed. I know i did. So many of my grandparents siblings and cousins died. This is just to honor several of my family and friends who survived or unfortunately perished during this time. The many that I did not include will forever be in my hearts.


REST IN PEACE...
The family of my gradmother Cosette...
Great-Grandmother Marie: decided the greatest way to protect her family after her husband was murdered was to separate them and put them into hiding. she remained with her infant daughter Nathalie so that she would be able to feed her no matter what. After fleeing from Paris, she was caught by the Gestapo and sent on the train to Auschwitz. Visibly distraught and exhausted at the arrival, she was gassed at the age of 30. She's remembered as having the most compassionate soul and kindest heart.
Great-Grandfather Jean-Pierre: shot by a Nazi after being seen selling food from the bakery at the age of 30. was always very defiant and stood up for what he believed in, which ultimately caused his death. He was extremely proud of his family.
Great-Aunt Nathalie: died on the train to Auschwitz at the age of 9 months. was the only other person in the family who shared Cosette's black hair and blue eyes, and was always regarded as the cutest and most happy baby.
Great-Aunt Elouise "Lou": A very, very beautiful girl whose passion was dancing ballet. Lou dreamed of someday becoming a ballerina with Paris Opéra Ballet.Cosette says that Angélique inherited her grace and artistic dance ability from Elouise. Lou was sent to live with a Christian family, where it is said that she fell in love with the family's son. Ultimately they discovered her hiding, and the family was shot as she was sent to Birkenau. She worked until she died of Typhus at the age of 15.
The family of my grandfather Léon...
Great-Uncle Sébastién: A strong, handsome teenager who was just getting started at University. He was leaving one day when he was arrested. He was sent to a work camp, and was lined up, numbered off, and shot.
Great-Grandmother Odette: An extremely overprotective mother, she was sent with her husband and child to the ghetto after the death of her oldest. she died of starvation and "a broken heart".
Great-Great Grandmother Anastasie: Sent to Bergan-Belsen, where she died nearly immediately.

The family of my grandfather Thierry:
Great-Grandmother Aurélie: Found leaving her missing sister's home when she was arrested and sent to a slave labor camp where she died of exhaustion. She was a strict but very loving mother who wanted nothing but success for her children.
Great-Grandfather Yves-Camille: A very lovable, compassionate father who was adored by all of his children. Was on secret business and never returned. He had been sent to Auschwitz where he was murdered.
Great-Aunt Elizabette "Bette": After her parents were taken, she was sent to a German hospital where she was used for medical testing. She was injected with several diseases included Tuberculosis until an injection of morphine killed her at the age of 8.
Family Friends Eva and Abraham: Murdered at Auschwitz the ages of 11 and 9 after being denounced as Jews. Click their names for their full biography.

HONORING THE SURVIVAL...
Grandmother Nicole "Cosette" and Great-Aunt Anais "Anne": Cosette and Anne were the closest of sisters. they were sent by their mother who knew they could not be separated to a Catholic convent. Although always frightened of being caught, they stayed their for some time before being denounced as Jews. They were captured and put on the train to Auschwitz, where they saw many people die, and were nearly there before the Russians liberated their train. They were one of the lucky ones, for if the weren't stopped their death would be certain as they were only 10 and 12 years old.

Great-Grandfather André and Grandfather Léon: Out of the many people sent to live in the ghetto, André and Léon were out of the few that would survive the brutal conditions. This would not erase the memory of seeing thousands being murdered, and losing their own wife and mother.

Grandfather Thierry: Although only a little boy at the time of his family's ordeal, he still remembers clearly everyone and everything he saw during this time. He lived in Theresienstadt with a surrogate Jewish family who posed him as their own son so that he would not be sent to an orphanage where his death would be certain. Thierry contracted typhus, but miraculously recovered.

Great-Uncle Georges: Although only 12 years old during this time, he had the muscular build of a teenager. When he was sent to Auschwitz after the Gestapo broke down his door, rather than being sent to the gas showers where the children went, he was allowed work. When Auschwitz was liberated, 12 year old Georges was barely alive. He was able to recover physically and went on to live his life.

Great-Aunt Anneliese "Lies": Lies was a college student in the south of France when she got news of her parents murder and sibling's capture. Fearing for her own safety, she was able to go to a convent and was miraculously never caught.

Friend Sofia Sofia was a ten year old girl from Russia who had witnessed her brothers, sisters, and parents get murdered before she was sent to Auschwitz. On the train there, she was able to use her few French skills to be able to converse with the only other little girls smashed in the train with her-Cosette and Anne. The three became very close friends, and Sofia was fortunate to be among the few that were liberated by the Russians. Since she had no parents to go back to, she lived with Anne and Cosette with their uncle who was like a second father to them. He loved having Sofia around, because he missed having Elouise and Nathalie around too. She went on to live a very happy life, and continued to be best friends with Anne and Cosette, which couldn't be said the same about her siblings and best friend/cousins, Eva and Abraham.


To all my other cousins, friends, and family members who were killed, I think of you all everyday and hope you are enjoying eternal bliss where you belong.