us-005578-irn47124-irn48062
type: RecordSet
archival history: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
biographical history: Imre (Emeric) Lazar was born on July 8, 1903, in Vagbeszterce, Hungary, to a Jewish couple, Moritz (Maurice) and Malvine Rosenfeld Lazar. Moritz, a businessman, was born in 1878 in Vagbeszterce. Malvine was born in 1877 in Vienna, Austria. Soon after Imre’s birth, the family moved to Budapest. Imre’s brother Gyorgy, was born on June 18, 1906. The boys grew up with private teachers and governesses. When Imre was twelve, he began music lessons. He later studied music and composition in Budapest. In September 1928, Imre, now Emeric, was living in Pars. He had moved there to study at the Paris Conservatoire under Alfred Cortot, specializing in the piano. He performed solo and with his own orchestra, appearing in shows with Josephine Baker and touring with Jeannette MacDonald, and composed several popular songs. In 1933, Emeric became the house composer and a conductor for Le Casino de Paris. In 1939, his father Moritz died of heart disease in Budapest. Germany invaded France on May 10, 1940. On June 22, France signed an armistice with Germany and Paris became the seat of the German military occupation in northern and western France. In August 1941, the Germans established Drancy internment camp in Paris to detain foreign born Jews. The camp was administered by French police until July 1943 when it was taken over by the German and an SS officer, Alois Brunner, was made commandant. Emeric was imprisoned in Drancy on August 21, 1941. By the summer of 1942, Drancy was a major transit camp for the deportation of Jews from France to concentration camps in Poland. Emeric acquired a copy of a French baptismal certificate, under the name Emeric Mattheiu Lazar, on July 10, 1942. He was released from Drancy on February 22, 1943. Emeric remained in Paris, living in hiding with the assistance of friends. The German forces in Paris surrendered on August 25, 1944. After liberation, Emeric worked in an American Red Cross nightclub; the French clubs were closed. While working at the clu…
conditions of use: Copyright Holder: Emeric M. Lazar
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: 1
has or had some members with language: eng
has or had some members with language: fra
has or had some members with language: hun
has record set type: Item
identifier: irn48062
is or was included in: us-005578-irn47124
record resource extent: folder oversize folders 1 2
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: Musical compositions, programs and documents illustrating the experiences of Emeric Lazar, Jewish, born in Hungary in 1903, surrounding the Holocaust in France, where he moved in the late 1920s to pursue his music and composition. Documents include baptismal certificate for Emeric dated 1942, affidavits of support, pre-war and post-war and pass and release papers from Drancy internment camp near Paris, from where he went into hiding until the liberation of France. Also included is a 1945 French document in lieu of birth certificate for Emeric upon the occasion of his marriage to Hedwiga Ferlin.
title: Emeric Lazar papers