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Suzanne Spaak, née Augustine Lorge known as Suzette Spaak (6 July 1905 – 12 August 1944) was a World War II French Resistance operative. On 21 April 1985, Yad Vashem recognized Spaak as Righteous Among the Nations , [1] for helping to smuggle several Jewish children to safety, by providing them with ration cards and clothing.
Suzanne Spaak lived in Paris with her husband Claude, a filmmaker, and their two children. She found great fulfillment in raising her family. Spaak, as the daughter of a famous Belgian banker, and sister-in-law of the Belgian foreign minister, was accustomed to a high standard of living.
Aug 12, 2019 · Suzanne Spaak was a wealthy Parisian who risked her life to save Jewish children during the Holocaust. She joined the Red Orchestra resistance group and was executed by the Nazis in 1944.
- An Apartment at 9 Rue de Beaujolais, Paris
- Joining The French Resistance
- Joining The Red Orchestra
- October 1943: The Gestapo Closes in
- Suzanne Spaak in Fresnes Prison
- August 1944: Liberation Arrives Too Late
- Recognition by The State of Israel
A 36-year-old woman sits alone on a luxurious leather sofa in the apartment’s spacious living room. She gazes around while running her fingers over her gold necklace. The furniture in the room is antique, the thick curtains are the highest quality velvet, and the chandelier sparkles like diamonds. The walls are covered with surrealistic images, the...
Suzanne volunteers to work with the underground National Movement Against Racism (MNCR) in Paris. At first, its male leaders greet her with skepticism. How can this wealthy woman help us? Does she know what she is getting into? Is she aware of the challenging, sometimes dangerous conditions that resistance fighters encounter? They give her simple t...
Aware of the growing atrocities of the Nazis, Suzanne’s next step is to join the Red Orchestra intelligence network. The group conducts highly effective intelligence-gathering in Germany, France, the Netherlands and Switzerland. The network is so successful at infiltrating the German military intelligence service that the Nazis set up the Sonderkom...
However, the Nazis are tracing and monitoring Red Orchestra operative radio transmitters and start making arrests. Captured members are brutally tortured, and several divulge names and secrets. As a result, more than 600 people are arrested. In mid-October 1943, Suzanne flees with Lucie and Paul-Louis to Belgium, where she goes into hiding in the A...
Suzanne is taken to the notorious Gestapo-held Fresnes prison near Paris. It’s a horrific place, crowded with members of the French Resistance and captured British special operations officers. Many of them will never be released. She is tortured multiple times in Fresnes. In January 1944 a German military court finds her guilty and sentences her to...
By the beginning of August 1944, the Allies are fighting their way to Berlin. The Germans in Paris prepare to evacuate from the city. They destroy documents, set explosives around the city, loot whatever they could to send back to Germany … and make sure they don’t leave many prisoners. On the morning of 12 August 1944, Suzanne sits down in her cel...
On 21 April 1985, Suzanne is recognized by Yad Vashem on behalf of the State of Israel and the Jewish people as “Righteous Among the Nations.” It is an honor bestowed upon non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust. Further reading: Suzanne’s Children: A Daring Rescue in Nazi Paris by Anne Nelson
Feb 9, 2021 · Learn about Suzanne Spaak, a Belgian Catholic who risked her life to save hundreds of Jewish children from deportation to Auschwitz. Register for a free online lecture with author Anne Nelson on February 11, 2021.
Feb 15, 2018 · I haunted libraries and archives, but my touchstones were witnesses and survivors – Suzanne’s Pilette and Bazou, as well as nieces and nephews; children of members of the network; and the rescued children themselves. I met two of them soon after they had left a wreath on Suzanne Spaak’s grave, unaware that she had children of her own.
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Apr 24, 2023 · Suzanne Spaak. Wikimedia Commons. Women also kept downed airmen, agents and escaped prisoners out of prison, helping them return to active service. At first impromptu, this aid soon turned into a ...
