Marion Deichmann's Story | Voices of Survival

A childhood in hiding: Marion Diechmann’s Journey of Resilience, Love, and Hope

Born just before Hitler’s rise to power, Marion Deichmann’s childhood was marked by fear, loss, and the courage of strangers. A young Jewish girl hiding in plain sight, she crossed borders, escaped with the help of the French Resistance, and survived D-Day in war-torn Normandy.

Light off-white stone surface with subtle natural texture

Escape from Nazi Germany

Born in Karlsrühe, Germany, in November 1932, to Kurt and Alice Deichmann, Marion's family flees to Luxembourg in 1934 after her father loses his job. Her parents do not anticipate the rise of Hitler.

A vintage close-up portrait of Marion as a baby wearing a knitted bonnet, resting a hand against their cheek. — Marion at 11 months

A whole people were overwhelmed by racist madness. I lived about 18 months in Germany before we left.

1932 sepia-toned postcard of the city of Karlsruhe in Germany and clock tower. — Karlsrühe, Germany

Two separate outdoor portraits—on the left, Marion's mother in a fur-trimmed coat and cloche hat; on the right, Marion's father in a long overcoat and fedora. — Alice (left) and Kurt (right) Deichmann

A Family Torn Apart

After the November Pogrom, Marion's paternal grandparents flee Germany in December with Brazilian visas. Her father, Kurt, joins them from Luxembourg. Alice tragically refuses to follow, failing to grasp the imminent danger.

I never heard my parents fight, but they didn't get along

A high-angle, black-and-white photograph shows a massive, dense crowd of men with shaved heads, all wearing dark coats and facing forward in a somber assembly at Buchenwald concentration camp. — BACKGROUND Prisoners of the Buchenwald concentration camp, Germany, 1938.

Marion's Escape

Germany invades Luxembourg, and all Jews must leave by September. Marion and her Jewish classmates are ostracized, including her best friend, Jaclyn. Marion's mother arranges a truck to smuggle them into France to join her grandmother. Marion later learns Jaclyn is murdered in Auschwitz.

A vintage black and white image of two young girls, Marion and her best friend in 1940

A vintage studio portrait of Marion's mother in a floral dress and Marion with a large white bow in her hair, both looking toward the camera. — LEFT Marion with her best friend, Jaclyn. Luxembourg, 1940.
RIGHT Marion with her mother, Alice, Luxembourg, 1940

Hiding in the truck, we held our breath. German soliders hunted us like deer. So you flatten as if you were laying down. There is the force of survival in you.

BACKGROUND Germans push through Luxembourg

The Arrest and Final Separation

On the morning of July 16, 1942, during the Vél d'Hiv roundup in Paris, Marion's mother, Alice, is arrested. Deported to the Drancy transit camp, then to Auschwitz, Marion never sees her again. Members of the French Resistance help Marion and her grandmother go into hiding.

A formal sepia-toned studio portrait of three generations of women: Marion's grandmother (left), her mother (right) and Marion (middle) with a large white hair bow.

Close-up of a Marion and her mother hugging and smiling together. — TOP Marion with her grandmother and mother
BOTTOM Marion with her mother

I wanted to go with my mother. I screamed and they told me I wasn't on the list.

A high-angle, grainy photograph of a narrow street lined with several dark buses parked outside a building marked 'PALAIS'. — The only photograph of the Vel d’Hiv Roundup

Sanctuary in Normandy

A French Resistance member brings Marion to Saint-Hilaire-du-Harcouët, a village in Normandy. She is taken in by the kind Parigny family, who treat her as their own. Marion stays with them for the remainder of the war.

A candid group photograph of Marion with the Parigny children in a sunlit garden, featuring a toy pram with dolls — Marion with Parigny family

A black-and-white photo of Marion and Claudine Parigny. Marion (left) is seated on a floral-covered table, both girls are wearing bows in their hair. — Marion with Claudine Parigny

If they [the Parignys] were caught by the Nazis, it would have cost at least their lives. They risked everything to protect people like me.

A scalloped-edge snapshot of four people sitting outside the Parigny café, with — Parigny Cafe

A vintage outdoor photograph of François Parignyin a flat cap and suit standing with Marion and 3 Parigny children on a bridge. The group is dressed in mid-20th-century attire, with the Claudine Parigny wearing a coat featuring a prominent fur collar. — Marion with Parigny family

D-Day and the Destruction
of Saint-Hilaire

Allied planes drop leaflets before D-Day, urging Saint-Hilaire residents to evacuate. Marion and the Parigny family flee. The town is hit hard: 80% of Saint-Hilaire, including the Parigny's home and business, is destroyed in the bombing. Liberated in August 1944, Marion stays with the Parignys for a time, but then leaves for Paris in search of her mother.

The bombing. You could just hear, but you didn't know where the bombs are going to be. It was terrible.

A stark image of devastation of city of Saint-Hilare, showing a street reduced to rubble, with the shell of a twin-spired cathedral standing prominently in the background — Saint-Hilaire after D-Day

A black-and-white historical photograph of a parade in New York City, featuring young people in scout-like uniforms. Marion holds a sign reading 'FRANCE', while others carry a French flag and an American flag — Marion marches in New York City as part of her French scout group, 1948.

Immigration and Return

Marion and her family immigrate to the US. She lives in Manhattan before moving to California in 1957, where she earns her degree at UC Riverside. Marion returns to France in 1970, where she begins working for the World Health Organization for over two decades.

I was totally uprooted in a strange country and culture. I felt like I was being taken away further from France and my past.

1994 color photo of Marion and her 3 young grandchildren dining outdoors in a garden. — Marion and her 3 young grandchildren

François and Angèle Parigny standing next to each other — François and Angèle Parigny

The Parignys' Courage

François and Angèle Parigny receive the prestigious honor of Righteous Among the Nations from Yad Vashem. They are given this recognition for their heroic actions during World War II, specifically for courageously hiding and protecting Marion from the Nazi regime and its collaborators. Their selfless bravery saved a life.

A professional studio bust-portrait of François and Angèle Parigny; the bottom right bears the mark 'Studio Laforest, Saint-Hilaire-du-Harcouët.' — Righteous Among the Nations award ceremony.

Marion's Legacy

Marion returns to the United States in 2021 to be closer to her children and now lives in Chicago. Her book, Her Name Shall Remain Unforgotten, is dedicated to her mother and is available in English, French, and German. Marion's virtual reality film, Letters from Drancy, can be seen in the Illinois Holocaust Museum's virtual reality gallery, The Journey Back: A VR Experience.

I think of my mother everyday as she lives on beside me.

Modern portrait of Marion Deichmann smiling at a memorial wall.

Cover for 'Her Name Shall Remain Unforgotten' with a painting. — Her Name Shall Remain Unforgotten:
A Child in the Heart of the Genocide.
By Marion Deichmann

A cinematic poster titled 'LETTERS FROM DRANCY', featuring a lone silhouette standing on a vast, light-colored horizon. Above the figure, papers or letters transform into a flock of birds flying into a hazy, sepia-toned sky filled with film festival laurels. — Poster for *Letters from Drancy VR* film

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