Odette, Georgette, and Nina Krieger were three of the Jewish children living at the Lamarck-Secrétan Children's Home, one of many centers run by the UGIF (Union Générale des Israélites de France) to safely foster persecuted children. Secrétan was the most crowded home, housing over a hundred children. It was originally housed in a building on rue Lamarck; when this location was bombed, the 125 children and 52 staff members were moved to the Lucien-de-Hirsch school. Like most UGIF centers, they struggled to find clothing and food. The staff looked after the children as best they could with the limited resources they had. The children were kept neat, nurtured, and --- as best as they could be --- safe.
On the night of July 21/22, 1944, the Gestapo conducted a massive raid on the UGIF children's homes, which, as of yet, had gone unmolested. These homes contained the most vulnerable of French Jews --- children, many of whose parents had already been deported and murdered. In this crackdown, eight children's' homes were raided. The residents and staff were imprisoned, and set to be deported. During this action, over two-hundred-and-fifty innocent children were arrested.
The children of Lamarck-Secrétan were awoken at the crack of dawn, forced from their beds and into waiting Gestapo cars. Once they reached the Drancy camp, they were held hostage for over a week in desperate conditions. They prayed for a miracle which did not come. On July 31, 1944, in the last major French convoy of Jews to Auschwitz (Convoy 77), all the children from the UGIF centers, including Lamarck-Secrétan, were sent to Auschwitz.
Due to the size of the home, it is difficult to say how many residents of Lamarck-Secrétan survived deportation. Seventy-one children are known to have been murdered in Auschwitz. The true extent of the atrocity against the Lamarck-Secrétan home is hard to say for sure.
On the night of July 21/22, 1944, the Gestapo conducted a massive raid on the UGIF children's homes, which, as of yet, had gone unmolested. These homes contained the most vulnerable of French Jews --- children, many of whose parents had already been deported and murdered. In this crackdown, eight children's' homes were raided. The residents and staff were imprisoned, and set to be deported. During this action, over two-hundred-and-fifty innocent children were arrested.
The children of Lamarck-Secrétan were awoken at the crack of dawn, forced from their beds and into waiting Gestapo cars. Once they reached the Drancy camp, they were held hostage for over a week in desperate conditions. They prayed for a miracle which did not come. On July 31, 1944, in the last major French convoy of Jews to Auschwitz (Convoy 77), all the children from the UGIF centers, including Lamarck-Secrétan, were sent to Auschwitz.
Due to the size of the home, it is difficult to say how many residents of Lamarck-Secrétan survived deportation. Seventy-one children are known to have been murdered in Auschwitz. The true extent of the atrocity against the Lamarck-Secrétan home is hard to say for sure.
Odette, Georgette, and Nina Krieger were three of the Jewish children living at the Lamarck-Secrétan Children's Home, one of many centers run by the UGIF (Union Générale des Israélites de France) to safely foster persecuted children. Secrétan was the most crowded home, housing over a hundred children. It was originally housed in a building on rue Lamarck; when this location was bombed, the 125 children and 52 staff members were moved to the Lucien-de-Hirsch school. Like most UGIF centers, they struggled to find clothing and food. The staff looked after the children as best they could with the limited resources they had. The children were kept neat, nurtured, and --- as best as they could be --- safe.
On the night of July 21/22, 1944, the Gestapo conducted a massive raid on the UGIF children's homes, which, as of yet, had gone unmolested. These homes contained the most vulnerable of French Jews --- children, many of whose parents had already been deported and murdered. In this crackdown, eight children's' homes were raided. The residents and staff were imprisoned, and set to be deported. During this action, over two-hundred-and-fifty innocent children were arrested.
The children of Lamarck-Secrétan were awoken at the crack of dawn, forced from their beds and into waiting Gestapo cars. Once they reached the Drancy camp, they were held hostage for over a week in desperate conditions. They prayed for a miracle which did not come. On July 31, 1944, in the last major French convoy of Jews to Auschwitz (Convoy 77), all the children from the UGIF centers, including Lamarck-Secrétan, were sent to Auschwitz.
Due to the size of the home, it is difficult to say how many residents of Lamarck-Secrétan survived deportation. Seventy-one children are known to have been murdered in Auschwitz. The true extent of the atrocity against the Lamarck-Secrétan home is hard to say for sure.
On the night of July 21/22, 1944, the Gestapo conducted a massive raid on the UGIF children's homes, which, as of yet, had gone unmolested. These homes contained the most vulnerable of French Jews --- children, many of whose parents had already been deported and murdered. In this crackdown, eight children's' homes were raided. The residents and staff were imprisoned, and set to be deported. During this action, over two-hundred-and-fifty innocent children were arrested.
The children of Lamarck-Secrétan were awoken at the crack of dawn, forced from their beds and into waiting Gestapo cars. Once they reached the Drancy camp, they were held hostage for over a week in desperate conditions. They prayed for a miracle which did not come. On July 31, 1944, in the last major French convoy of Jews to Auschwitz (Convoy 77), all the children from the UGIF centers, including Lamarck-Secrétan, were sent to Auschwitz.
Due to the size of the home, it is difficult to say how many residents of Lamarck-Secrétan survived deportation. Seventy-one children are known to have been murdered in Auschwitz. The true extent of the atrocity against the Lamarck-Secrétan home is hard to say for sure.
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