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Jean-Michel Rosenfeld

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Jean-Michel Rosenfeld
First Deputy Mayor of the 20th arrondissement of Paris
In office
1984–2008
Member of the Municipal Council of Limeil-Brévannes
In office
1971–1989
Member of the Municipal Council of Bonneuil-sur-Marne
Personal details
Born5 March 1934
4th arrondissement of Paris, France
Died4 March 2023(2023-03-04) (aged 88)
Political partySFIO
PS

Jean-Michel Rosenfeld (5 March 1934 – 4 March 2023) was a French Holocaust survivor and politician.[1]

Biography

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Family and early life

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Rosenfeld was born in Paris on 5 March 1934 to a Jewish family of Polish origin.[2][3] His paternal family was originally from Lublin from where his grandparents, Moïse Rosenfeld and Etha Ejzenfarb, moved to France in 1907.[2] Moïse and Etha had two children: Joseph, his father, and his aunt, Simone. His maternal grandmother, Suzanne Graif, was the daughter of a Romanian Jew and an Alsatian Jew. She married Paris Berek Altman in 1906 and gave birth to Rosenfeld's mother, Jacqueline, in 1906.

Rosenfeld's parents married in the 10th arrondissement of Paris on 6 June 1933. He was born in the 4th arrondissement. He left school after his primary education and became a draper's clerk in The Marais at the age of 16.

The Holocaust

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Rosenfeld gave his testimony on the Holocaust in 2015 to American journalist Elaine Sciolino.[4] For his entire life after the Holocaust, he still carried the yellow badge he was forced to wear in his wallet.[4]

In 1939, Rosenfeld's father was taken as a prisoner of war and did not return home until 1945.[5] Therefore, he lived in Paris with his mother during the German occupation and the Liberation of Paris. They were forced to wear the yellow badge from 1942 to 1944. He notably survived the Vel' d'Hiv Roundup on 16 July 1942, hidden with his mother by her boss.[2][6]

Rosenfeld's father was a soldier of the 21st Marine Infantry Regiment, interned in Charmes, Vosges. He escaped execution by claiming he was not a Jew and instead sent to stalags in Austria, Italy, and Yugoslavia. He returned to Paris on 6 June 1945, having lost a third of his weight, as well as his teeth.[7]

In total, Rosenfeld lost 38 family members in the Holocaust.[8]

In politics

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Rosenfeld joined the French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO) at the end of the 1960s. He became a municipal councillor in Bonneuil-sur-Marne before serving the same position in Limeil-Brévannes from 1971 to 1989. After the Metz Congress, he joined the team of Pierre Mauroy, placed in charge of external relations. He was then chargé de mission for press, communications, and external relations for Mauroy while the latter was Prime Minister. He led communications with various communities and organizations, such as Jews, Armenians, North Africans, the International League Against Racism and Anti-Semitism, MRAP, and Amnesty International.[9] Rosenfeld worked alongside Mauroy for 40 years and was present at his death.[10][11] After Mauroy's death, he remarked "When he left, I almost closed his eyes".[12]

Rosenfeld was chief of staff to Minister of Labour Michel Delebarre from 1984 to 1986 in the government of Laurent Fabius.[3] He was First Deputy Mayor of the 20th arrondissement of Paris from 1984 to 2008.[13][14] He also served as vice-president of the Cercle Bernard Lazare.[15]

On 14 February 2004, Rosenfeld was the victim of an anti-Semitic verbal attack, having been called a "youpin" by activists from the National Front.[16][17]

Death

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Jean-Michel Rosenfeld died on 4 March 2023, one day shy of his 89th birthday.[18]

Decorations

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Works

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  • Je poursuis le chemin (2001)
  • Les lumières de l'espoir : l'espoir, l'étoile, le triangle et la rose (2007)[20]

References

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  1. ^ Ayrault, Jean-Marc (6 March 2023). "Jean-Michel Rosenfeld, un ami s'en va". Fondation Jean-Jaurès (in French). Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  2. ^ a b c Vincenot, Alain (2012). Vel d'hiv - 16 juillet 1942 (in French). L'Archipel. ISBN 978-2-8098-0738-7.
  3. ^ a b "Jean-michel rosenfeld : le militant et l'énarque". L'Histoire (in French). Archived from the original on 25 December 2015.
  4. ^ a b Shteir, Rachel (23 December 2015). "Review: Elaine Sciolino Blends Past and Present in 'The Only Street in Paris'". New York Times. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  5. ^ Sciolino, Elaine (2015). The Only Street in Paris. Life on the Rue des Martyrs. W.W. Norton & Company. ISBN 9780393242386.
  6. ^ "En mémoire d'une rafle" (PDF). L'Ami du 20e (in French). 2013.
  7. ^ "Joseph Rosenfeld : Lettres du stalag : 1940-1945 Préface de Jean Lacouture". Cercle Ramadier (in French).
  8. ^ Devinat, François (21 March 1995). "Des francs-maçons retournent à Auschwitz". Libération (in French). Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  9. ^ Coignard, Sophie; Guichard, Marie-Thérèse (2000). French Connections: Networks of Influence. Alora Publishing. ISBN 9781892941022.
  10. ^ "Jean-Michel Rosenfeld Honore Pierre Mauroy Devant La Maison du Peuple". YouTube (in French). 30 June 2013.
  11. ^ "Inauguration d'une sculpture en l'honneur de Pierre Mauroy à Cachan". Les Amis de Pierre Mauroy (in French). 14 June 2015. Archived from the original on 14 January 2016. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  12. ^ "Lille : l'hommage des socialistes à Pierre Mauroy, géant du Nord disparu le 7 juin 2013". La Voix du Nord (in French). Lille. 8 June 2015. Archived from the original on 14 January 2016. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  13. ^ "Jean-Michel Rosenfeld". Fondation Jean-Jaurès (in French).
  14. ^ "Jean Michel Rosenfeld-Portrait liste Calandra". Dailymotion (in French).
  15. ^ Kline, Brett (21 June 2005). "World File :: Paris Square Renamed in Honor of Dreyfus Defender". Deep South Jewish Voice. Paris. Archived from the original on 14 January 2016. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  16. ^ "Solidarité avec Jean-Michel Rosenfeld". Conseil Représentatif des Institutions juives de France (in French). 24 February 2004. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  17. ^ "Elu traité de "youpin" : Delanoë condamne". Le Nouvel Observateur (in French). 15 February 2004. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  18. ^ Ba, Amadou Bal (4 March 2023). ""Jean-Michel ROSENFELD (1932-2023)" par Amadou Bal BA". Mediapart (in French). Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  19. ^ "Agenda de George PAU-LANGEVIN Ministre des Outre-mer du 26 au 30 mai 2014". Ministry of the Overseas (in French). Archived from the original on 14 January 2016.
  20. ^ Rosenfeld, Jean-Michel (2007). Les lumières de l'espoir : l'espoir, l'étoile, le triangle et la rose (in French). La Bruyère. ISBN 978-2750000561.
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