The Drancy camp was a multistory complex that imprisoned and deported a majority of Jews from France. The U-shaped building was initially built in the 1930s as a housing project. Approximately 70,000 prisoners passed through Drancy between August…
A postcard sent to Monique from her youngest sister, Simone, when she stayed at a convent after the war. Simone marked an "x" to show Monique where she slept. It is unknown how long she stayed at the convent, possibly until the age of 6.
A photograph of the "customs canal" in Marseille where Monique's father, Jules, worked as a ship chandler and owned a shop. When the Nazis invaded France, it was taken from him for "Aryanization."
The letter Jules and Valentine wrote to Monique and her grandmother informed the family of the situation at Drancy and their impending deportation to Auschwitz. A "charitable person" delivered the letter to Monique's grandmother.
Monique (front and center in a black blazer) with her family, where she was honored at West Point for her volunteer efforts in the Israeli Independence War.
Monique Bental (née Alexander) was born in Marseille, France, on November 19, 1929. She was a hidden child with her grandmother and youngest sister, Simone, during the war. Monique's mother and father died at the Auschwitz Concentration Camp after…