us-005578-irn522307-irn522502
type: RecordSet
archival history: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
biographical history: Oswiez (Alexander/Sasha, 1905-1989) Markon, was born in Vilna (now Vilnius), Lithuania. He immigrated to France in the 1920s. From 1927-1929, he served in the French Army and became a French citizen. He studied chemical engineering and received his degree in 1931, from the University of Nancy. He worked in the dairy, brewery, and wine industries. Alexander also received a diploma as a “capacitare” in law on June 21,1932, from the law faculty in Toulouse. In 1936, Alexander met Raya Magid (1910-2005) during a visit to see his mother in Vilna. She had attended school with his sister and they became reacquainted during the visit. When Alexander returned to France, he and Raya carried on a courtship by mail. They were married on February 11, 1937 in France and settled in Paris. Alexander worked as a translator at a publishing company, Dunod. Raya had studied in a commercial school in Lyons, and worked as a secretary. On September 1,1939, Germany invaded Poland. Alexander was recalled to the French military, and on September 4, 1939, was drafted to the center of mobilization at Orleans, Loiret. He was sent to the 55th Regiment of the artillery and stationed on the Maginot Line, a series of fortifications along the French-German border. Germany invaded France in May 1940, and in June, France surrendered. Alexander was demobilized and went south in the hopes of finding Raya, who had fled to Toulouse during the exodus from Paris ( L’Exode). He eventually found her by accident in a train station. Later, they found refuge in Leguevin in Haute Garonne. Alexander worked as a farm laborer, and later in a shoe factory. The couple’s first child, Alain (1941-1998), was born in Toulouse in June 1941. The Markon family wished to immigrate to the United States, and applied for immigration visas. Raya’s first cousin, Lillian Epstein, lived in the US, and was married to a psychiatrist, Joseph Epstein. Joseph had connections in the US State Department and pleaded their case, eventually h…
has beginning date: 1927-01-01
has end date: 1974-12-31
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: 1
has or had some members with language: fra
has or had some members with language: deu
has or had some members with language: pol
has or had some members with language: eng
has or had subject: 1139
has or had subject: 319
has or had subject: 701
has or had subject: 843
has or had subject: 1141
has record set type: Item
identifier: irn522502
is or was included in: us-005578-irn522307
record resource extent: folders 2
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: The papers consist of documents, identification cards, photographs, and correspondence relating to the Markon family during the Holocaust.
title: Markon family papers