“This summer, a lady rang at my door, rue Bournes (Lyon 4th arrondissement) and, showing me a photo of her baby, taken on my balcony, tells me that she was a refugee with her family in Lyon, in the house I live in today, ”says François Mareschal. It was in July 2020. The woman standing in front of him is called Renée Fauguet. Born Zejgman, daughter of Abram, she is part of the association of the Survivors of Montluc: it is from there that her father left for Drancy in 1944 by the convoy of deportees N ° 77 before being deported.
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A black and white photograph from 1943
She had come to Lyon in the hope of finding the traces of a Lyonnais policeman who, during the war of 39-45, had rescued his family. “After asking me to photograph her in the same place as 75 years ago, she told me that she was looking for a policeman named Collier, perhaps a commissioner, a friend of her father, Abram, who provided false papers to the Zejgman family and many others. She wants to try to bring him the recognition of Righteous Among the Nations, ”explains François Mareschal.
Moved by the story, the Lyonnais tried to find this policeman and / or his family. This led him to ask Michel Salager, former police officer and president of the Lyon Police History Society, who in turn undertook research whose starting point was a black and white photo. The photo dates from 1943.
We see the park of a boarding school for young girls, in Lyon or its periphery, with standing near the tree, Madame Collier, wife of the benefactor policeman, and on the left on a branch, the young Cécile Zejgman, now Madame Unglick, sister of Renée.
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A call to collect information
For the president of the Société lyonnaise d’histoire de la police, the objective is first of all to find the name of this boarding school with which the Zejgman girls, or Madame Collier, were probably in contact. “This would help advance research,” he said, appealing to the memory of the Lyonnais who could recognize this place.
Information to communicate to Michel Salager, by email: [email protected] or by phone at 06.09.16.41.34.
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The Zejgman family lived in Lyon
According to the biography written by one of his daughters, Renée Fauguet, Abram Zejgman was born in Radom, Poland. At 25, he spoke Polish and Yiddish, wanted to discover the world and arrived in Paris in 1920. He settled on Boulevard de la Villette in Belleville where he worked as a leather cutter in a shoe company. . Mirla Gal, a young Polish girl he knew before leaving her country, joins him and they get married. The couple will have 6 children including Cécile, born in 1937 and Renée, born in 1943. Abram and Mirla became French on May 4, 1934.
In 1939 Abram enlisted in the French army, but responsible for the family, he was quickly demobilized. In 1941, Abram left for Lyon, where he joined friends of Radom and probably engaged in resistance activities. In 1942 his wife joined him, with two of his children. The family lives in rue Bournes in Lyon 4th district.
On July 4, 1944, Abram was arrested by the militia and taken to Montluc prison from where he left for Drancy on July 31, 1944 by convoy of deportees No. 77.
According to a witness he died in a gas chamber.
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