Introduction xxiii implications. It also features the rescue efforts of the mayor of Annemasse, Jean Deffaugt, who tried to secure Marianne’s release. Himself a rescuer of Jewish children, he was later named as one of the Righteous among the Nations by Yad Vashem. Chapter 7 moves away from the chronological-historical elements of the book, considering instead how those who were rescued responded to their experience. Based on extensive interviews with both rescued and rescuers undertaken by Samantha Lakin (as is chapter 8), consideration is given to the secrecy (and, often, trauma) surrounding the children’s departure and pas- sage through hostile territory, followed by finding sanctuary in Switzerland. The memories generated during this time lasted, in many cases, a lifetime. This chapter explores how those who had firsthand familiarity with the efforts of Marianne, Mila, Charlotte, Rolande, Mireille, Geneviéve, and oth- ers doing the same work have remembered their experience. This is the first time that a considered treatment of this kind has been made in English— and in many instances, it brings to light accounts that have not yet been made public at all. Chapter 8 then takes the study further by considering the subsequent lives of those who were rescued as children. In retrospect, as adults, how did they view their salvation—and those who received them in Switzerland? Do they know what happened to loved ones they left behind? Were there any “happy endings”? In short, do those who were rescued children view the outcome of the war years in a positive or negative light? To bring the book to a close, chapter 9 considers how—if at all—those featured in the book have been recalled in Holocaust memory, given that their activities were clandestine and that they were at risk of their lives if detected. The chapter asks whether there has been a divergence of memory relating to the passeurs relative to the question of resistance, and it tries to account for this. Finally, it asks whether the existence and actions of those engaged in rescuing activities demands a reconsideration of Jewish responses to the Holocaust in southeastern France—or whether, once overlooked, they should now be elevated to a position commensurate with their efforts and sacrifices. Hugo and Renée Steinberg: A Tale of What-Might-Have-Been1 Hugo Steinberg was born on December 8, 1929, in Hamburg, Germany, to James and Bluette Steinberg (née Huguenin). They had an older daughter, Renée, who was born in 1926. James Steinberg had been born in Riga, Lat- via (then part of the Russian Empire), to a Jewish family. Because Latvia attained independence in 1920, the children’s birth nationality was given as Latvian. James was educated initially in Riga but then attended the École Superieure (high school) in Zürich before attending the University of Zürich for his
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