User:Raskuly/sandbox
Rasmus Kask | |
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| Born | Rasmus Maarit Kask 25 February 1923 |
| Died | 22 April 2012 Paris, France |
| Occupation | Member of the French Resistance |
Rasmus Maarit Kask (25 February 1923 – 22 April 2012) was a member of the French Resistance during the Second World War. He carried out multiple assassinations of Nazi and Vichy officials.
Early and personal life
[edit]Kask was born on 25 February 1923 in Viipuri, Finland (now Vyborg, Russia) to Topias and Maarit Kask. Topias worked at a local paper plant and was killed in a workplace accident a few months after Kask's birth. Following Topias' death, Maarit began working as a caterer at a high-end restaurant due to one of Topias' employers taking pity on her and putting a word in for her. While working at the restaurant, Maarit met Simon Bullion, a French businessman, and the two became romantically involved. Bullion traveled back and forth between France and Finland, bringing her gifts and spending time with her, before eventually proposing to her on 6 July 1924, and shortly thereafter the couple moved to Paris with Kask.
While in Paris, Kask was given a private education through a personal tutor before eventually enrolling at the University of Paris to pursue a degree in world history with the intention of becoming a professor. It was during this time that Kask began exploring his sexuality and he had several relationships with other male students at the university.
Second World War
[edit]At the outbreak of World War II, Simon and Maarit were in Brighton, England on a business venture and Simon sent multiple telegrams to Kask requesting that he join them. Kask refused, not believing that he was in danger and not wanting to study at a British university. When the Germans invaded the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands), Kask was unable to flee the country before the Fall of France and subsequently returned to Paris. Kask, fearing being outed for his homosexuality and imprisoned by the Nazis, initially kept a very low profile, but he began to surmise a plan to flee to Switzerland in order to escape persecution.