folder 1
Lazega family collection
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Documents, photographs, papers, correspondence documenting the experiences of Jacob and Leah Lazega, and their children Fanny (donor), Eva, and Max before, during, and after the Holocaust. The Lazega family fled their home in Brussels during the German invasion of Belgium and went to Paris temporarily. When the Germans arrived in Paris, the family fled first to Vannes and then south to Marseilles. Jacob was taken to Camp des Milles, where the family could occasionally visit and bring him food and supplies. Leah was able to help her husband escape from the camp, and he then went into hiding. Leah then took the children to Spain and illegally crossed the border on Christmas Day 1941. After their arrest in a small town, a priest helped get them in touch with Jewish relief agency and they went to Barcelona. Leah was ill and had to go to the hospital, but she was able to get her children on to a transport to the United States. In May 1943, along with about 20 other children, Fanny, Eva, and Max sailed on board the Serpa Pinto. Two years later, Leah joined them in the U.S. and their father arrived two years after that.