Tag: Righteous Among the Nations

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Muslims, Jews and the Gestapo

This is one of those stories you won’t find in textbooks nor is it widely known. In fact, it is a story that many people refuse to discuss or acknowledge. It’s the account of a religious man and his followers who sheltered and helped Jews escape from Paris during the Nazi occupation. There are thousands of stories about the bravery and courageous acts of Gentiles saving Jewish lives during World War II in spite of knowing that if caught, they would likely forfeit their lives.

Our story today is about the leader of Parisian Muslims who rescued Jews and others from certain deportation during the occupation.

Si Kaddour Benghabrit. Photo by anonymous (date unknown).
Si Kaddour Benghabrit. Photo by anonymous (date unknown).

Did You Know?

Did you know that the newest U.S. Navy aircraft carrier will be named after an African American military hero? Europeans like to say that it takes America a long time to make a decision but when she does, it’s usually the right one. In this case, they are correct.

Doris Miller was a mess attendant on the battleship USS West Virginia when it was attacked by Japanese planes on the morning of 7 December 1941 in Pearl Harbor. He carried the wounded to safety, assisted the ship’s mortally wounded captain, and manned an anti-aircraft machine gun (which he had never been trained on) and continued to shoot until he ran out of ammunition and had to abandon ship.

For his actions, Miller was awarded our country’s second highest military medal in 1943, the Navy Cross. He was the first African American to receive the medal. After surviving Pearl Harbor, Miller served on the USS Indianapolis and then, the escort carrier USS Liscome Bay after it was launched in April 1943. During the Battle of Makin in November 1943, a Japanese submarine sank the USS Liscome Bay. Six hundred forty-four or, seventy percent of the crew perished including Miller. He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart.

Doris Miller and his Navy Cross medal. Photo by anonymous (c. 1943).
Doris Miller and his Navy Cross medal. Photo by anonymous (c. 1943).

Let’s Meet Is Kaddour Benghabrit

Si Kaddour Benghabrit (1868-1954) was born in French occupied Algeria to a prominent Andalusian family. After primary and secondary educations at leading Algerian schools, he studied law and began his practice in Algiers (capital of Algeria). After stints as an interpreter for the Legation of France and liaison between North Africa and France, Benghabrit founded the Mahkma of Algiers (a civil court) and the Society of Habous and Holy Places of Islam (an organization to facilitate Muslim pilgrimages to Mecca). Read More Muslims, Jews and the Gestapo

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Something Must Be Done

I briefly introduced you to Suzanne Spaak in March (The French Anne Frank; click here to read). She and Hélène Berr worked together to save the lives of hundreds of Jewish children. Like most of the résistants during the Occupation, Suzanne and Hélène did what they thought was the right thing to do. As Suzanne told people, “Something must be done.”

Do you ever wonder how rather obscure stories are resurrected from history’s dust bins? In the case of today’s blog, we have Anne Nelson to thank for uncovering the story of Suzanne Spaak’s resistance activities. Anne is the author of Suzanne’s Children (refer to the recommended reading section at the end of this blog for a link to her book). Anne came across Suzanne while researching her excellent book, Red Orchestra (again, refer to the recommended reading section). A haunting photo of Suzanne found in Leopold Trepper’s memoirs piqued Anne’s interest and initiated her nine-year journey. She was able to locate Suzanne’s daughter, Pilette, in Maryland and a series of three dozen interviews spread out over seven years formed the backbone of Anne’s research. There isn’t much out there regarding Suzanne’s story, so we owe many thanks to Anne for finding and “bird-dogging” the facts surrounding Suzanne’s activities. I’m quite sure she went down many rabbit holes while researching and writing the book. I have read both books and I look forward to Anne’s next book.

Suzanne Spaak. Photo by anonymous (date unknown). Read her story at "Something Must Be Done" - Stew Ross Discovers
Suzanne Spaak. Photo by anonymous (date unknown).

Did You Know?

Did you know that the international art world was undergoing new movements during the interwar period (1918 – 1939)? Picasso, Dalí, and Magritte would each create styles of painting that today we call cubist and surrealism, among others. After the Nazis came to power in 1933, Hitler (a frustrated artist in his youth), declared the work of these artists along with dozens more (including many German artists) as degenerate. René Magritte (1898-1967) was a starving Belgium artist whom Claude Spaak befriended while artistic director of the Brussels Palais des Beaux-Arts. Magritte supported himself by designing wallpaper and sheet music. Spaak began suggesting topics and themes for Magritte to paint. Soon, the Spaak family’s walls were covered with surrealistic images, the likes no one had ever seen. By 1936, Claude convinced his friend to paint family portraits. Probably the most disturbing was L’Esprit de Géométrie or, “Spirit of Geometry.” It is a creepy painting of a mother holding an infant. The problem: the head of the mother was Claude’s four-year-old son, Bazou and the infant’s head was Claude’s wife, Suzanne ⏤ Dalí would be proud. In 1937, Claude moved his family to Paris, but Magritte remained in Belgium where he continued to struggle. At one point, Magritte requested stipends from his patrons. Only Suzanne Spaak stepped up to the plate with a monthly stipend in exchange for paintings. The Spaaks would go on to collect forty-four paintings by Magritte. Five days after the Nazis invaded Belgium, Magritte fled to France where he immediately went to the Spaak’s country home. He requested to “borrow back” several paintings hanging on their wall. When Magritte left for Paris, he was carrying with him a dozen paintings. Magritte had been introduced to an American art collector to whom he would sell his “borrowed” paintings. The collector’s name was Peggy Guggenheim and the Spaak family’s paintings would ultimately end up hanging in her museum.

L’Esprit de Géométrie. Gouche on paper by René Magritte (1937). Tate Collection.
L’Esprit de Géométrie. Gouche on paper by René Magritte (1937). Tate Collection.
René Magritte. Photo by anonymous (date unknown).
René Magritte. Photo by anonymous (date unknown).

Let’s Meet Suzanne Spaak

Suzanne Lorge Spaak (1905-1944) or “Suzette” as her family and friends called her, was born into an affluent Belgian family. Her father was a prominent banker and she married Claude Spaak (1904-1990) in 1925. Claude’s family included his brothers Paul-Henri who would become a well-known Belgian politician (Prime Minister and Foreign Minister among other positions) and Charles, a famous movie script writer. Suzanne and Claude had two children: Lucie (“Pilette”) and Paul-Louis (“Bazou”) but life together as husband and wife was not happy. Read More Something Must Be Done