Jacques Schweitzer papers

Jacques Schweitzer (born Jacques Swiczarczyk, 1923-2017) was born on 16 September 1923 in Paris, France to Bernard (later Bernard Schweitzer, 1890?-1998) and Gittel (née Gitla Buszna, 1892-1988, later Gittel Schweitzer) Swiczarczyk. Both of his parents were born in Chmielnik, Poland, and Bernard fought in the Russian Revolution. He immigrated to Paris in the 1910s and owned a grocery store. Jacques had one brother, Max (later Max Sarcey, 1926-2003) and one sister, Estelle (later Estelle Seidman, b. 1931). Prior to World War II, Jacques worked for Renault as an apprentice metal worker. His father went to the World’s Fair in New York in 1939, and unable to leave after the German invasion of Poland he remained there for the duration of the war.

After the German invasion of France in 1940, Gittel and Estelle fled to Lyon and survived the war there. Jacques was deported to the Drancy transit camp in 20 August 1941. He escaped on 5 November 1941 and joined the Jewish partisans in Lyon, where he was also able to occasionally see his mother and sister. In December 1942 Jacques, Max, and their cousin Joseph Dymentstajn (later Joesph Dimet) went to Spain in order to join the Forces françaises libres (Free French Forces) in North Africa. They were arrested and imprisoned in Pamplona, but managed to get released. In May 1943 they went to Casablanca. Max and Joseph joined a parachutist battalion with the British SAS (Special Air Service). Jacques went to Beirut to join the Forces Navales Françaises Libres (Free French Naval Forces). He studied to become a radio operator and served on the La Moqueuse.

In 1946, Jacques, Gittel, and Estelle all immigrated to the United States and were reunited with Bernard. Jacques worked in the garment industry and married Sylvia Cantor in 1950. They had two children, Gerard and Ilene.