Menu
Menu
This site is a family blog telling stories of deportation, resistance and survival during the Second World War as well as their consequences on the life of descendants.
Nîmes, France, September 17: Georges Ben Attar, 19 years old, is arrested with his family and sent to an unknown destination which would soon become a nightmare: Auschwitz.
Nîmes, France, September 17: Simone Calef, 18 years old, leaves home with her family for an unknown destination. Lost and with nowhere to go, they randomly ring the door of a woman who leaves her house to them, knowing that they are Jews.
Saint-Privat-des-Vieux, France, September 20: François Fernandez, 19 years old, joined the French Resistance and in August 1944, he enrols in the French army under Marshal de Lattre de Tassigny.
These three stories are intertwined. My name is Hélène Ben Attar, my married name is Hélène Fernandez. Georges and Simone are my parents. François is my father-in-law.
Béziers, France : My brother, Thierry Ben Attar, was attacked in school. The perpetrator, a member of the New Order, a far-right organisation, returns to class with a white handkerchief stained with blood from the fight, chanting: "Jewish blod! "
Béziers, France: I am 14 years old. I take my one-year-old niece for a walk in our neighbourhood. Suddenly, stones - thrown from a blowpipe - hit my glasses, and someone shouts: "The Jewess! The Jewess!" Then, quickly, I am surrounded by kids my age, and receive strokes on the thigh.
On May 1, my father commemorates the liberation from Auschwitz with his family. On this occasion, I wrote, with the help of Catherine Izard, one of my sisters-in-law, a booklet called 'Tranche de Survie' (Survival Experience). The texts narrating my father's survival in the camps were written from personal notes written by him and from questions that I asked him.
In 2005, I decide to give a public dimension to my father's story by creating this website. I also added my mother's and father-in-law's stories, from the same period. I wanted to put in parallel these three lives which made mine.
Thank you to my daughter Claire for her dedication to upgrade this website and translate it into English. Thank you to all contributors.
All wanted to leave these stories in written to realise Georges' wish: that future generations remember. Enjoy reading!
Hélène Ben Attar Fernandez
Read the three testimonies:
In memory of Aaron Ben Attar, Sarah Ben Attar born Cario, Mathilde Ben Attar, Yvette Ben Attar, Lazare Cario, Bellyne Cario born Duenas and Maurice Ben Attar.
To all the victims of the Holocaust
Copyright 2012 – 2021 Avada | All Rights Reserved
Powered by WordPress | Theme Fusion
