Antoinette Feuerwerker
Encyclopedia
Antoinette Feuerwerker was a French
jurist and an active fighter in the French Resistance
during the Second World War.
. She was the daughter of Paul (Pinchas) Gluck-Friedman and Henia Shipper. Her father was a direct descendant of Hasidic leaders going back to the Magid
Dov Ber of Mezeritch. During World War I, the family moved from Poland
to Belgium
, and from there to Switzerland
where her three siblings, Rose Warfman
, Hedwig [Heidi], and Salomon Gluck
were born, then to Germany
, and finally to France
, where they became citizens. Feuerwerker studied at the Lycée des Pontonniers (now Lycée international des Pontonniers) in Strasbourg
. After her Baccalauréat
, she studied law, a rarity in those days for a woman. One of her professors, René Capitant
, became Minister of Education (1944–1945) in the Provisional Government and Minister of Justice (Attorney General) (1968–1969) under Charles de Gaulle
. She worked in René Capitant
's law firm. She also graduated from business school (HEC).
With her family, she moved to Paris
, where she met David Feuerwerker, a young rabbi
. They married in November 1939, at the beginning of World War II
. David, deployed at the Maginot Line
, had to obtain a special permit to attend the wedding. In June 1940, Feuerwerker moved to Brive-la-Gaillarde
where her husband was the rabbi of three French Departments : Corrèze
, Creuse
, and Lot. They joined the Resistance
movement "Combat" (the main Movement of the Résistance) to fight the Nazis. After the war, they moved to Lyon
, where David Feuerwerker
served as chief rabbi
(1944–1946). From 1946 to 1948, David Feuerwerker was the rabbi of Neuilly-sur-Seine
, outside Paris
. From 1948 to 1966, they lived in Paris, in the Marais
district, where her husband became the rabbi of the Rue des Tournelles synagogue. Feuerwerker collaborated with her husband in his research on the emancipation of the Jews of France. In 1966, they settled in Montreal
, Quebec
, where Feuerwerker taught law and economics at the Collège Français.
Feuerwerker and her husband had six children: Atara, Natania, Elie, Hillel, Emmanuel, and Benjamine.
Her husband died on June 20, 1980. She moved to Israel
, where she spent the last 3 years of her life. She died on February 10, 2003, and was buried in Sanhedria, Jerusalem, next to her husband.
(Voluntary Combatant of the Resistance), she received the French Liberation Medal
. Later the French government awarded her the Palmes Académiques
and the Médaille de la Santé Publique, for her contributions to public education and public health.
, Feuerwerker actively participated in all the activities in the Résistance with her husband, Rabbi Feuerwerker, in particular recruiting liaison agents and distributing clandestine journals. Together with Germaine Ribière
, who was later recognized as a Righteous Among the Nations
, she organized the evacuation of young people hunted by the Nazis.
, she hid in a Catholic convent with her baby daughter, Atara, surviving on potatoes and water. She was later hidden by Germaine Goblot, the daughter of French philosopher Edmond Goblot. She saved the life of her sister, Rose Warfman
, who was deported to Auschwitz. Her brother, a 29-year young physician, Dr. Salomon Gluck
, was deported from France on the convoy 73, led to Kaunas
in Lithuania
and Reval
(Tallinn) in Estonia
, never to return.
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
jurist and an active fighter in the French Resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
during the Second World War.
Biography
Antoinette (Antonia, Toni, Toibe Rochel) Gluck was born on November 24, 1912, in Antwerp (Borgherout), BelgiumBelgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
. She was the daughter of Paul (Pinchas) Gluck-Friedman and Henia Shipper. Her father was a direct descendant of Hasidic leaders going back to the Magid
Maggid
Maggid , sometimes spelled as magid, is a traditional Eastern European Jewish religious itinerant preacher, skilled as a narrator of Torah and religious stories. A preacher of the more scholarly sort was called a "darshan", and usually occupied the official position of rabbi...
Dov Ber of Mezeritch. During World War I, the family moved from Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
to Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, and from there to Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
where her three siblings, Rose Warfman
Rose Warfman
Rose Warfman is a French survivor of Auschwitz and heroine of the French Resistance.-Born in Zürich:Rose Gluck was born on October 4, 1916, in Zürich, Switzerland, the daughter of Paul Gluck-Friedman and Henia Shipper .Her father was a direct descendant of Hasidic Masters, going back to the...
, Hedwig [Heidi], and Salomon Gluck
Salomon Gluck
Salomon Gluck, , was a French physician and a member of the French Resistance.-His ancestors:...
were born, then to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, and finally to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, where they became citizens. Feuerwerker studied at the Lycée des Pontonniers (now Lycée international des Pontonniers) in Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
. After her Baccalauréat
Baccalauréat
The baccalauréat , often known in France colloquially as le bac, is an academic qualification which French and international students take at the end of the lycée . It was introduced by Napoleon I in 1808. It is the main diploma required to pursue university studies...
, she studied law, a rarity in those days for a woman. One of her professors, René Capitant
René Capitant
René Marie Alphonse Charles Capitant was a French lawyer and politician.He was the son of a lawyer, Henri Capitant, and attended the Lycée Henri-IV in Paris...
, became Minister of Education (1944–1945) in the Provisional Government and Minister of Justice (Attorney General) (1968–1969) under Charles de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....
. She worked in René Capitant
René Capitant
René Marie Alphonse Charles Capitant was a French lawyer and politician.He was the son of a lawyer, Henri Capitant, and attended the Lycée Henri-IV in Paris...
's law firm. She also graduated from business school (HEC).
With her family, she moved to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, where she met David Feuerwerker, a young rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
. They married in November 1939, at the beginning of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. David, deployed at the Maginot Line
Maginot Line
The Maginot Line , named after the French Minister of War André Maginot, was a line of concrete fortifications, tank obstacles, artillery casemates, machine gun posts, and other defences, which France constructed along its borders with Germany and Italy, in light of its experience in World War I,...
, had to obtain a special permit to attend the wedding. In June 1940, Feuerwerker moved to Brive-la-Gaillarde
Brive-la-Gaillarde
Brive-la-Gaillarde is a commune of France. It is a sub-prefecture of the Corrèze department. The population of the urban area was 89,260 as of 1999. Although it is by far the biggest commune in Corrèze, the capital is Tulle.-History:...
where her husband was the rabbi of three French Departments : Corrèze
Corrèze
Corrèze is a department in south central France, named after the Corrèze River.The inhabitants of the department are called Corréziens or Corréziennes according to gender.-History:...
, Creuse
Creuse
Creuse is a department in central France named after the Creuse River.-History:Creuse is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was created from the former province of La Marche....
, and Lot. They joined the Resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
movement "Combat" (the main Movement of the Résistance) to fight the Nazis. After the war, they moved to Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
, where David Feuerwerker
served as chief rabbi
Chief Rabbi
Chief Rabbi is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities...
(1944–1946). From 1946 to 1948, David Feuerwerker was the rabbi of Neuilly-sur-Seine
Neuilly-sur-Seine
Neuilly-sur-Seine is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.Although Neuilly is technically a suburb of Paris, it is immediately adjacent to the city and directly extends it. The area is composed of mostly wealthy, select residential...
, outside Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. From 1948 to 1966, they lived in Paris, in the Marais
Le Marais
Le Marais is a historic district in Paris, France. Long the aristocratic district of Paris, it hosts many outstanding buildings of historic and architectural importance...
district, where her husband became the rabbi of the Rue des Tournelles synagogue. Feuerwerker collaborated with her husband in his research on the emancipation of the Jews of France. In 1966, they settled in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, where Feuerwerker taught law and economics at the Collège Français.
Feuerwerker and her husband had six children: Atara, Natania, Elie, Hillel, Emmanuel, and Benjamine.
Her husband died on June 20, 1980. She moved to Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, where she spent the last 3 years of her life. She died on February 10, 2003, and was buried in Sanhedria, Jerusalem, next to her husband.
Medals
As a Combattante Volontaire de la RésistanceResistance
- Physics :* Electrical resistance, a measure of the degree to which an object opposes an electric current through it* Friction, the force that opposes motion** Drag , fluid or gas forces opposing motion and flow...
(Voluntary Combatant of the Resistance), she received the French Liberation Medal
French Liberation Medal
The French Liberation Medal or more precisely Liberated France Medal is a decoration of the French Republic which is issued to any veteran of the Second World War who participated in the liberation of France....
. Later the French government awarded her the Palmes Académiques
Palmes académiques
The Ordre des Palmes Académiques is an Order of Chivalry of France for academics and cultural and educational figures...
and the Médaille de la Santé Publique, for her contributions to public education and public health.
Role in the Résistance
According to CombatCombat (newspaper)
Combat was a French newspaper created during the Second World War. Originally a clandestine newspaper of the Resistance, it was headed by Albert Ollivier, Jean Bloch-Michel, Georges Altschuler and, most of all, Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Sartre, André Malraux, Emmanuel Mounier, and then Raymond Aron...
, Feuerwerker actively participated in all the activities in the Résistance with her husband, Rabbi Feuerwerker, in particular recruiting liaison agents and distributing clandestine journals. Together with Germaine Ribière
Germaine Ribière
Germaine Ribière was a French Catholic, member of the Résistance, who saved numerous Jews during World War II, and was recognized as a Righteous Among the Nations ....
, who was later recognized as a Righteous Among the Nations
Righteous Among the Nations
Righteous among the Nations of the world's nations"), also translated as Righteous Gentiles is an honorific used by the State of Israel to describe non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust to save Jews from extermination by the Nazis....
, she organized the evacuation of young people hunted by the Nazis.
Escape from the Nazis
In the last months of World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, she hid in a Catholic convent with her baby daughter, Atara, surviving on potatoes and water. She was later hidden by Germaine Goblot, the daughter of French philosopher Edmond Goblot. She saved the life of her sister, Rose Warfman
Rose Warfman
Rose Warfman is a French survivor of Auschwitz and heroine of the French Resistance.-Born in Zürich:Rose Gluck was born on October 4, 1916, in Zürich, Switzerland, the daughter of Paul Gluck-Friedman and Henia Shipper .Her father was a direct descendant of Hasidic Masters, going back to the...
, who was deported to Auschwitz. Her brother, a 29-year young physician, Dr. Salomon Gluck
Salomon Gluck
Salomon Gluck, , was a French physician and a member of the French Resistance.-His ancestors:...
, was deported from France on the convoy 73, led to Kaunas
Kaunas
Kaunas is the second-largest city in Lithuania and has historically been a leading centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the biggest city and the center of a powiat in Trakai Voivodeship of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania since 1413. During Russian Empire occupation...
in Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
and Reval
Tallinn
Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It occupies an area of with a population of 414,940. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg. Tallinn's Old Town is in the list...
(Tallinn) in Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
, never to return.