Teenagers

In 1942, when German authorities began shooting the Jews of Żółkiew and deporting them to killing centers, Clara and her friends had little hope for survival. Clara described in her diary a desire to preserve the memory of their friendship. The group decided to pose for a final portrait together.

When Soviet troops drove the Germans out of Żółkiew in July 1944, Clara and her family emerged from hiding and began a new life. Clara’s best friend, Genya Astman—like nearly all of Poland’s 3.3 million Jews—was murdered during the Holocaust.

Although they came from different backgrounds, the Becks had become friendly with Clara’s family before the war. Julia Beck worked in the Kramer family’s home and developed a bond with Clara’s mother. The two had daughters the same age.

Julia’s husband, Valentin, however, viewed Jews with disdain and suspicion. Clara later remembered that pressure from his wife–and a dislike of German authorities in Poland—convinced him to help hide the families in the crawl space.

Whatever Valentin’s attitudes toward Jews, he could not tolerate the mass murder of his neighbors, once remarking “[I always] wanted a Poland without Jews, but not like this.”

After France fell to Nazi Germany in 1940, French authorities quickly passed anti-Jewish laws modeled on those in Germany. In June 1942, Jews in Paris were ordered to wear yellow Star of David badges. The stars humiliated Jews and isolated them from non-Jewish people. French police also could harass Jewish people in the streets and easily carry out roundups to deport them.

To protest this treatment of Jews, some non-Jewish people in France made their own yellow stars out of paper. Wearing the stars in public was a sign of solidarity and signaled opposition to the Germans and their French collaborators. In June 1942, some non-Jewish teens who wore the star were arrested and held in internment camps in Paris—for taking a stand.

Fifteen-year-old Maurice Lombart was arrested in June 1942 by French police officers for wearing a handmade Star of David in protest of anti-Jewish laws.

Like most of the teens who joined the yellow star protests of 1942, Maurice was part of the zazou scene in Paris. Zazous embraced a new, subversive style of music and dance called “swing.” Many zazou youth also saw their fashion choices—big suits and short skirts—as a form of protest. Because their appearance signaled an opposition to fascism and right-wing extremism, zazous were targeted for harassment by German and French authorities.

Maurice was eventually released and survived the war.