Léo Bergoffen Explained

Léo Bergoffen
Birth Date:30 October 1922
Birth Place:Berlin, Weimar Republic
Death Place:Angers, France
Nationality:French
Occupation:Translator

Léo Bergoffen (30 October 1922 – 5 July 2020) was a German Jew who emigrated to France in 1938.[1] Deported to Auschwitz, he married former French Resistance fighter and Righteous Among the Nations member Odette Blanchet.

Biography

Bergoffen was born on 30 October 1922 in Berlin.[2] He was the son of Jakob and Felli (née Singer) and had an older brother named Max, born in 1921.[3] The family left Germany for Prague before settling in Angers, France in 1938. Bergoffen became a translator with the Chamber of Commerce, but was subsequently fired because he was Jewish.

In June 1942, Bergoffen went to the zone libre, but was arrested by the Gendarmerie de France in August. He was deported from the Drancy internment camp to Auschwitz in the 27th convoy on 2 September 1942. His parents were both murdered at Auschwitz, but Léo survived.

Bergoffen married former resistant Odette Blanchet on 26 February 1946, with whom he settled in Avrillé in 1962. The couple had one son, Jacques, and Odette was named to the Righteous Among the Nations in 1994.[4] Bergoffen was named as a Knight of the Legion of Honour in 2008.[5]

Léo Bergoffen died in Angers on 5 July 2020 at the age of 97.[6]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Près d'Angers. Léo Bergoffen, dernier rescapé d'Auschwitz en Anjou, s'est éteint. 7 July 2020. Ouest France. French.
  2. Web site: À 20 ans, Léo Bergoffen était déporté à Auschwitz. 31 August 2016. Ouest France. French.
  3. Web site: Felli (Feigel) Bergoffen (geb. Singer). July 2010. Stolpersteine in Berlin. German.
  4. Web site: Bergoffen Odette. 10 May 1994. Comité Français pour Yad Vashem. French.
  5. Web site: Avrillé. Léo Bergoffen, déporté à Auschwitz, reçoit la Légion d'honneur. 30 August 2016. Ouest France. French.
  6. Web site: Nécrologie. Léo Bergoffen, dernier survivant de la Shoah en Maine-et-Loire, est décédé. 7 July 2020. Ouest France. French.