Testimony from Annette Bessmann Muller
Annette Muller was arrested during the July 16, 1942 round-up. She experienced the horror of the Vel' d'Hiv', was torn away from her mother who was forced onto a train bound for Auschwitz, and lived through the hell of Drancy. Post-war France did not want to talk about this horror. Shocked by the silence surrounding what is now called the Vel' d'Hiv' roundup and especially the amnesia that covered the fate of Jewish children in France during the Second World War, Annette decided to write the story of her childhood in 1976. She sent her text to numerous publishing houses. In vain. It was not until 1983 that Serge Klarsfeld published fragments of it in his book Vichy-Auschwitz. The Barbie trial and the film Au revoir les enfants by Louis Malle in 1987 opened the eyes of the public. Annette's testimony finally found an audience. In 1991, the first edition of La petite fille du Vel' d'Hiv' was published by Denoël. The book tells the story of her family from 1929 to the autumn of 1942 when she was released from Drancy. In 2009, she published the completed version with a recounting going all the way to 1947 and followed by the testimony of her father Manek. Although they have been essential reference texts for researchers, writers, and filmmakers, none of Annette's works has ever been translated into English. The following work is a humble contribution to filling this gap. We hope that reading it will inspire a professional translator to do an official translation of La petite fille du Vel' d'Hiv'.
Watch the full interview in French | VHA Interview Code: 3494