Biography
Jacob Barosin (1908-2001), the son of a plywood importer, was born in Riga, Latvia and raised in Germany. He studied at the Staats-Schulen for Free and Applied Art and Freiburg University, where he received his PhD in art history. In 1933, Jacob and his wife Sonia, a Russian-born Jewish émigré, fled Nazi Germany and settled in Paris. On May 18, 1940, one week after the German invasion of France, Jacob and Sonia were arrested. Sonia was sent to Gurs; Jacob was sent to Nimes and then to Langlade where he was given a prestataire (auxiliary soldier) uniform, though never any assignment. By October, his status changed to that of a foreign laborer. Most of his comrades had to work in the salt mines, but Jacob and a few others avoided the work by painting and selling pro-Petain slogans. They donated the money to the National Aid Society. In November Jacob received a note from Petain thanking him for the money he raised. In December 1940, Jacob, still trying to avoid the salt mines, asked the mayor if he could be relocated to Nimes. The Mayor was very kind and told him that if a prefect gave him permission he could move to a designated city. On May 15, 1941 Jacob received permission from the Prefect of Herault to move to the small city of Lunel. By law, Jacob could only work in agriculture. He found an apartment owned by the Salles family and a job with the farmer Roger Dusseel. Once Jacob settled in Lunel, he sent for Sonia, who in the meantime was living in Nice. On November 9, 1941, the Germans occupied Lunel, and Jacob fled to Florac. He and Sonia lived there for the next year and a half, but on February 17, 1943 Jacob was arrested and sent to the Gurs internment camp. He avoided deportation to Auschwitz posing as a Latvian citizen. On March 21, he was transferred to a labor camp in Gigac. On April 17, 1943 Jacob obtained a travel permit for two days and returned to Florac to go into hiding. The Pastor Andre Gall arranged for him and Sonia to hide with his parishioners, Simone Serriere, on the upper floor of a schoolhouse in the tiny town of Montmejeane. In August 1943 Sonia and Jacob were almost discovered so they decided to go back to Paris. They hid with Mrs. Mallet, the mother of the Christian wife of Jacob's cousin. Jacob and Sonia remained there until Paris was liberated in August 1945. Throughout the war Jacob continued to sketch and paint whenever he had the chance. Right after liberation, Jacob and Sonia returned to their old apartment, and two year later they immigrated to the United States in 1947.
