us-005578-irn524206
type: RecordSet
archival history: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
biographical history: Born in Vienna in 1928, Edith Mayer Cord moved to Italy with her family to escape the rise of Nazism in Austria. In 1938, Italy passed the same anti-Jewish laws, similar to the Nuremburg laws, and the entire family was asked to leave. Unable to receive a visa for any country, Edith and her family entered France illegally in April 1939 where they received political asylum. At the outbreak of World War II, her father was arrested as an enemy alien and sent to Les Milles, a camp near Marseille. Released in 1940, both he and her older brother were arrested again and sent to Gurs. After several other camps, both were deported to Auschwitz in the summer of 1942. Neither returned. During that time, Edith and her mother remained in Nice from where they were eventually kicked out as Nice was forbidden to Jews. They received a residence permit in a small village in France where Edith and her mother did farm work. When the mass deportations began, Edith was encouraged to go underground. At fourteen, Edith accepted because she was afraid of what would happen to her if she were arrested and sent to a concentration camp. In July 1943, Edith went into hiding with false papers with the help of the Jewish scouts of France and their clandestine arm, the Sixième. She spent a year on the run, hiding in different schools, until she was smuggled into Switzerland in May 1944 with a group of thirty Jewish children. In Switzerland, still deprived of schooling, she worked as a nanny until the end of the war when she was able to rejoin her mother, who had managed to survive in a village in France. Back in France, the truth about the death camps and the Gestapo torture chambers became fully known. Edith was faced with the triple task of making a living, coming to terms with man’s inhumanity toward his fellow man, and getting an education. What followed were seven years of struggle, intense study and hard work. In 1949, Edith passed both baccalauréats with a major in philosophy and in 1952, she…
has beginning date: 1939-01-01
has end date: 1945-12-31
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: 1
has or had subject: 1981
has or had subject: 843
has or had subject: 1138
has or had subject: 701
has record set type: Item
identifier: irn524206
record resource extent: folder 1
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: Contains material documenting the experiences of the Mayer family while in French concentration camps and in hiding under false names. Contains a letter from the Rivesaltes concentration camp from father to wife and children (8/25/42) just prior to deportation; the last postcard from a father sent prior to deportation to Germany (9/3/42); the last postcard sent from donor's brother Kurt to mother and Edith (8/23/42), Bram, France; two envelopes, one from donor's father sent from Camp de Rivesaltes, and second addressed to donor from Red Cross postmarked January 19, 1945; French residence permit issued to Anna Mayer, March 27, 1942; Monlaur certificate allowing Mrs. Mayer to remain at home until further notice; report card for 1943-44 for donor using false name Elise Maillet; birth certificate issued June 23, 1939 for Edith Mayer with the addition of the name"Sar"; false birth certificate issued to Elise, daughter of Jules Maillet; and fifteen original photos, prewar and wartime of donor and family members.
title: Edith Cord collection