Vera Lechtman was born on June 26, 1938, to Tonia and Sioma Lechtman in Paris, France. Her parents had been deported by the British to France from Palestine in 1938 because of their communist political activities. Tonia was born January 18, 1918, in Lodz, Poland; Sioma was born August 1, 1917, in Vienna, Austria. The couple met and married in Palestine. In 1936, her father had joined the Austrian division of the Communist International Brigade to fight for the Republicans in the Spanish Civil war. This war ended in 1939 and he returned to France where he was soon arrested by the French authorities. Tonia and Vera were able to visit him in the Gurs detention camp and the couple had a son, Marcel, born on March 31, 1940. In the summer of 1940, France was occupied by Germany. Sioma was sent to Le Vernet internment camp. Tonia placed Vera and Marcel in the Pouponniere children’s home in Limoges, France, which was part of the OSE, Organisation de secours aux enfants [Children’s Aid Society]. OSE cared for refugee children and the children of Jewish families who were in danger of deportation. Tonia found a place to stay near the home. In 1942, Tonia and her children were arrested by the French police and sent to the Nexon internment camp. They were selected for deportation but the camp commander let the two young children and their mother remain in France. A friend arranged their release and the family went into hiding before escaping to Switzerland. Her father was deported to Auschwitz concentration camp on December 8, 1942.
In Switzerland, Vera and Marcel at first stayed with their mother in Les Hirondelles refugee camp in Geneva. Then Tonia moved to a camp in Montreux and placed the children in a home run by Margaret Locher in Zurich. Tonia studied social work and worked with Polish refugees. After the war ended in 1945, she worked for the Unitarian Church in children's refugee camps in France and Germany. She decided to return to Poland with Vera and Marcel in 1946, even though she was warned by Polish embassy officials in Switzerland of the still virulent anti-Semitism in that country. In Poland, Tonia continued to do relief work under the aegis of the Unitarian church. The family learned that Sioma, age 28, had been murdered in January 1945 by local Poles following his escape from a death march. All of their family members who had remained in Poland perished during the Holocaust. In 1949, Tonia was accused by her neighbors of being a spy and was imprisoned by Polish authorities for five years. Vera and Marcel were placed in a state run orphanage. Vera became a pediatrician in northeastern Poland. She married a Christian Pole and had two children. In 1968, anti-Semitic violence swept throughout Poland, causing thousands of Jews to leave. Marcel left the country for Israel that year. In 1971, Vera and her children joined this exodus and moved to Israel. Tonia died, age 89 years, in 1996 in Poland.
Marcel Lechtman was born on March 31, 1940, in France to Sioma Lechtman, born August1, 1917, in Austria, and Tonia Bialer, born January 18, 1918, in Lodz, Poland; They had met in and married in Palestine in 1936 and deported to France from Palestine in 1938 because of their communist political activities. Marcel had a sister, Vera, who was born on June 26, 1938, in Paris, France. In 1939, his father returned to Paris from Spain where he had been fighting as a member of the Austrian division of the Communist International Brigade for the Republican cause in the Spanish Civil War. He was soon arrested by the French authorities. Tonia and Vera were able to visit him in the Gurs detention camp and thus Marcel was born.
In the summer of 1940, France was occupied by Germany. Sioma was sent to Le Vernet internment camp. Tonia placed Vera and Marcel in the Pouponniere children’s home in Limoges, France, which was part of the OSE, Organisation de secours aux enfants [Children’s Aid Society]. OSE cared for refugee children and the children of Jewish families who were in danger of deportation. Tonia found a place to stay near the home. In 1942, Tonia and the children were arrested by the French police and sent to the Nexon internment camp. They were selected for deportation but the camp commander let the two young children and their mother remain in France. A friend arranged their release and the family went into hiding before escaping to Switzerland. His father was deported to Auschwitz concentration camp on December 8, 1942.
In Switzerland, Vera and Marcel at first stayed with their mother in Les Hirondelles refugee camp in Geneva. Then Tonia moved to a camp in Montreux and placed the children in a home run by Margaret Locher in Zurich. Tonia studied social work and worked with Polish refugees. After the war ended in 1945, she worked for the Unitarian Church in children's refugee camps in France and Germany. She decided to return to Poland with Vera and Marcel in 1946, even though she was warned by Polish embassy officials in Switzerland of the still virulent anti-Semitism in that country. In Poland, Tonia continued to do relief work under the aegis of the Unitarian church. The family learned that Sioma, age 28, had been murdered in January 1945 by local Poles following his escape from a death march. All of their family members who had remained in Poland perished during the Holocaust. In 1949, Tonia was accused by her neighbors of being a spy and was imprisoned by Polish authorities for five years. Vera and Marcel were placed in a state run orphanage. Vera became a pediatrician in northeastern PolandHis mother was from Poland and her father was from Austria originally. Sioma was eventually interred at Gurs and Le Vernet in France, and later at Auschwitz, where he died in January 1945. Marcel and his older sister Vera were placed at the Pouponniere children’s home in Limoges, France, which was part of the Organisation de secours aux enfants [Society for Rescuing Children], also known as the OSE. The OSE was the French division of a Jewish Russian Society, founded in 1933. Originally set up to take care of the children of foreigners, it later expanded to take in French children as well. Eventually the charity was forced underground as Nazis began to round up Jewish children from orphanages. Tonia and her children were arrested by the French police in 1942 and sent to the Nexon internment camp. A good friend was able to arrange for their release and they went into hiding before escaping to Switzerland. Vera and Marcel went to a children’s home run by Margaret Locher in Switzerland. In 1945, after the war the family returned to Poland. In 1949 when Marcel was only 9, he and his sister were sent to a state run home after their mother, Tonia, was arrested and sent to prison. Marcel left Poland for Israel in 1968 as a wave of anti-Semitic violence swept through Poland, causing thousands of Jews to leave.
Tonia Bialer was born on January 18, 1918, to Aharon and Rachel Bialer, in Lodz, Poland. She had three siblings: Romek, Yoel Julek, and Noemi. Tonia joined the Communist party in 1934; to prevent her arrest, the family emigrated that year to Palestine where her father established the Bialer textile factory. Tonia continued to work for the Communist party in Palestine, where she met and later married Sioma Lechtman, born August 1, 1917, an immigrant from Vienna, Austria. In 1936, both were arrested by the British authorities for their communist political activity. They were imprisoned in Jaffa and Bethlehem before being deported. Since Sioma, an Austrian by birth, was officially stateless, the couple was sent to France rather than to Austria or Poland. Following the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936, Sioma joined the Austrian division of the Communist International Brigade to fight for the Republican cause. Tonia, who was pregnant, remained in Paris, where she gave birth to Vera on June 26, 1938. At the end of the civil war in 1939, Sioma returned to France, but soon was detained by the French authorities. Tonia became pregnant for a second time while visiting Sioma at Gurs and gave birth to a son, Marcel, on March 31, 1940. In the summer of 1940, France was occupied by Nazi Germany. Sioma was sent from Gurs to Le Vernet internment camp. Tonia sent the children to the Pouponniere children's home in Limoges, which was part of the Organisation de secours aux enfants [Children’s Aid Society]. The OSE cared for refugee children and Jewish children whose families were at risk for deportation. Tonia took up residence nearby to stay close to her children. In 1942, the French police arrested Tonia and her children and sent them to the Nexon internment camp. They were selected for deportation. Tonia was already loaded in the cattle truck when the camp commander felt pity for the two small children and let them stay in France. A friend soon arranged their release, and the family went into hiding for a time until they were able to escape to Switzerland. Sioma was deported on December 8, 1942, to Auschwitz concentration camp.
The children at first lived with their mother in Les Hirondelles refugee camp in Geneva, and later moved to a camp in Montreux. Then Tonia placed Marcel and Vera in a children’s home in Zurich run by Margaret Locher. For the next two years, Tonia studied social work and worked with Polish refugees. After the war ended in 1945, she worked for the Unitarian Church in children's refugee camps in France and Germany. She decided to return with her children to Poland in 1946. In Poland, she continued to do relief work under the aegis of the Unitarian church. The family learned that Sioma, age 28, had been murdered in January 1945 by local Poles following his escape from a death march. All of their family members who had remained in Poland perished during the Holocaust. In 1949, Tonia was accused by her neighbors of being a spy and imprisoned by Polish authorities for five years. Marcel and Vera were placed in a state run orphanage. In 1968, anti-Semitic violence swept throughout Poland, causing thousands of Jews to leave. Marcel left the country for Israel that year. In 1971, Vera and her children joined this exodus and moved to Israel. Tonia died, age 89 years, in 1996 in Poland.
