Biography
Marianne Picard (born Marianne Schwab) is the daughter of Robert Schwab (b. 11/10/00) and Marthe Samuel Schwab (b. 12/01/04). Marianne was born on September 1, 1929 in Colmar, France where her father was a physician. She had twin brothers, Pierre (Shlomo) and Louis (Eliezer) born on March 19, 1932 and a baby sister Danielle born in Gueret on December 6, 1941. The family had strong Jewish ties and were Zionist but not orthodox. Marianne attended the Lycee Cami-See until the start of the war. In 1939 Robert left to join the French army as a physician, and the rest of the family relocated to Vittel together with two aunts and their children. Marianne attended the Lycee Jeunne Filles de Gueret. Following France's capitulation to the Germany, the family left Vittel and came to Limoges on June 14, 1940. Two months later Robert rejoined his family and they all moved to Gueret where Robert continued to work as an army physician until December when all Jews were expelled from the military. Despite this, Robert still worked as a physician in the Gueret hospital until the beginning of November 1943. Then an acquaintance of his in the local police warned him that there would be a "raffle", (a round-up of Jews), and the family had to flee. Marianne went to stay with a Christian friend, and the rest of the family went elsewhere. The following day, Robert and Marthe went with their children to a more remote village where they rented a farm. Though they had to pay a lot in rent, the family was able to remain there throughout the end of the war. They used false papers without the special Jewish stamp but with their own name Schwab, which was also considered an Alsatian name. One day a member of the underground visited them and told them they urgently needed Robert to help someone who was seriously ill. Robert left with the members of the underground only to be spotted and denounced to the Gestapo. Though the Gestapo searched for him, Robert returned to Gueret where he stayed for one year. In 1945 the family returned to Colmar, and Robert resumed his work in the hospital. Marianne married Bernard Picard in 1949. The two served as directors of Jewish schools in Paris. Marianne worked in the Lucien de Hirsch School, and Bernard taught Jewish philosophy and directed the Yavne School. In 1994 they immigrated to Israel.
