Louise Magadur
Born(1899-04-21)21 April 1899
Died12 May 1992(1992-05-12) (aged 93)
Pont-Croix
CitizenshipFrance
OccupationHairdresser
Organization(s)Communist Party; French Resistance

Louise Magadur (21 April 1899 - 12 May 1992) was a French resistance fighter, Communist and Holocaust survivor.

Biography

Magadur was born on 21 April 1899 in Pont-Croix in Finistère, France.[1] Her father was a miller and she was the fourth child of a family of six.[1] She learnt to be a seamstress and moved to Paris in 1924, where she offered hairdressings lessons.[1] In 1942 she opened a hairdressing salon in the 12th arrondissement.[1]

Prior to the outbreak of the Second World War, Magadur was active in the Communist Party.[1] She became a member of the National Front for the Fight for the Liberation and Independence of France (Front National) and was an active member of the Resistance.[2] Her salon became the respectable cover for activities including leaflet distribution, letter exchange and the creation of disguises for members.[2] She also encouraged others to join the fight, including Suzanne Lasne.[3]

On 9 March 1942, she was arrested by the French police and was held in solitary confinement until 24 August 1942.[1] She was then sent to Fort Romainville, which was under German administration; there she discovered the news that both her mother and sister had died.[2] From Romainville she was transported on 24 January 1943 in what became known as the convoi des 31,000 (Convoy 31000) - all of whom were sent to Auschwitz.[1] Many of those in the convoy were Communist Party members.[2] On 4 August 1944 she was deported to Ravensbrück.[1] On 5 March 1945 she was moved to Mauthausen.[1]

Magadur was released from Mauthausen on 22 April 1945.[1] Six months after her release, Magadur was able to reopen her hair salon, despite the fact that she found readjusting to life difficult.[1] By the time of her death, she was the oldest survivor of 'Convoy 31,000' and was the only woman who was transported on it, born before 1900, to return.[1]

Legacy

There is a playground dedicated to Louise Magadur in her hometown of Pont-Croix, which was named as a tribute to her.[4]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Charlotte Delbo, Le Convoi du 24 janvier, p.188-189.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Mémoire Vive – Louise MAGADUR – 31673". www.memoirevive.org. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
  3. ↑ "Musée de la résistance en ligne". museedelaresistanceenligne.org. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
  4. ↑ "Pont-Croix. The children of the exodus". archive.wikiwix.com. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.