Paul GEISMAR

Photograph from the Shoah Memorial in Paris
ref. 1721045.jpg, source: Yad Vashem. Shoah Memorial – Paul Geismar

Paul Geismar’s childhood: growing up surrounded by grief (1919-1939)

Paul Geismar was born on December 25, 1919 at 2 rue du Logelbach in Colmar, in the Haut-Rhin department of France[1] [2]. His father, Alphonse Abraham Geismar, who was born on February 20, 1881 in Niederhergheim, also in the Haut-Rhin department[3] about eight miles south of Colmar, was a seed and/or fruit merchant[4][5]. His mother, Jeanne Geismar, née Lévy, was born on November 24, 1886 in Réguisheim in the Haut-Rhin department[6], about 15 miles south of Colmar. She did not go out to work. Her parents were Abraham Lévy and Victoria Lévy née Weill, and both of them were Jewish[7]. Paul had an older sister, Alice Geismar, who was born on December 10, 1915 at Kirchstrasse 3 (3 Church Street) in Colmar[8].

The Alsace-Moselle region was returned to France on June 28, 1919, under the Treaty of Versailles. Before that, between the Treaty of Frankfurt (May 10, 1871) and the Treaty of Versailles (June 28, 1919), Alsace and Moselle had been annexed by Germany, and had been part of the Reichsland Elsass-Lothringen. Paul Geismar’s parents and sister were thus born during the period during which the region was annexed to Germany. It is not known whether or not Alphonse Abraham Geismar fought in the First World War [9].

Between the ages of 1 and 3, Paul lost his paternal grandparents, both of whom were Jewish. His paternal grandfather, Léopold Geismar, a merchant born in Herrlisheim, in the Haut-Rhin, lived at 1 rue des Tourneurs in Colmar, died on April 29, 1921 [10]. He was the son of Abraham Geismar, a merchant, and Sprinza née Bollag, both of whom last lived in Oberhergheim, also in the Haut-Rhin.

His paternal grandmother, Berthe Geismar née Bollag, was born in Endingen, in the Canton of Aargau, Switzerland. She was the widow of Léopold Geismar, who lived at 6 Place d’Armes in Colmar and the daughter of the late Samuel Bollag, a merchant, and Rachel née Wyler, both of whom last lived in Basel, Switzerland. She died on March 20, 1923 at 7-9 Rue des Cloches in Colmar[11].

When Paul was just 3 years old, his father, Alphonse Abraham Geismar, died at the age of 42, on December 3, 1923 at the Saint Joseph Clinic at 16 rue Roesselmann in Colmar[12]. He is buried in the Jewish cemetery in Colmar. After Alphonse died, Paul, Alice and their mother Jeanne Geismar continued to live in the family apartment at 2 rue du Logelbach in Colmar[13].

Paul went to the Bartholdi School for Boys in Colmar from 1925 to 1930. In 1925-1926, Paul, who was then between the ages of 5 and 6, was a “good student” and “worked well”[14]. In 1926-1927 school year, Paul was in the then French year 10. The teacher praised his willingness to learn, despite the fact that he had to fill in some “gaps in his arithmetic” and noted that his “state of health often prevents him from performing well”[15]. In 1927-1928, Paul, between the ages of 7 and 8, was in French year 9. Due to his difficulties in French and arithmetic, Paul had to repeat his year 9 in 1928-1929. In 1929-1930, he was in the then French year 8. The teacher mentioned in his report that Paul was a “good student” but “a little slow and absent-minded”. He said that Paul would “only be allowed into the next grade if he passes a numeracy exam at the beginning of the new school year”[16].

At the age of 10, Paul became an orphan: his mother Jeanne Geismar died at the age of 43 on October 13, 1930 at 16 rue Roesselmann in Colmar[17]. She too is buried in the Jewish cemetery in Colmar.

Paul and Alice were probably then raised by another family member, but we were not able to find any records in their names in the Public Assistance archives [18], nor any adoption judgments in their names in the Colmar Court records[19]. We do not know if Paul continued to study at the Bartholdi school in Colmar. A school report in the surname of Geismar, but no first name, for the French 6th grade year in 1930-31, may be that of Paul Geismar. The report mentions “satisfactory work and progress” during the third trimester[20].

In 1939, Paul, who was single and still a student, lived at 3 rue des Vosges in Saint-Louis in the Haut-Rhin department[21]. He had brown hair, blue eyes, an “average” forehead, a straight nose and an oval face, and was 5,6″ tall. His educational standard was “level 3”[22].

Paul Geismar’s involvement in the war and his mobilization (1939-1941)

On September 1, 1939, the German army invaded Poland. On September 3, 1939, France and Britain declared war on Germany. Paul was 19 years old at the time.

On May 10, 1940, following the “phony war”, the Germans went on the offensive and invaded the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg, circumventing the Maginot Line.

Paul was registered under number 839 (class of 1939) in the Mulhouse recruitment office in the Canton of Huningue. He was drafted on June 8, 1940 and assigned to the 181st Infantry Division[23].

The armistice, which was signed with Germany on June 22, 1940, and with Italy on June 24, 1940, came into effect on June 25, 1940. France was partitioned into two zones: the German-occupied zone in the north, and the so-called “free” zone in the south, governed by the Vichy regime. Alsace-Moselle was effectively annexed and attached to the Nazi Reich, and the German army occupied the region and introduced its own local authorities. On July 13, 1940, Gauleiter Wagner, the head of the civil authorities in Alsace, gave the order to expel the Jews who still remained in Alsace to the non-occupied zone, and to confiscate all their property, interests and other assets for the benefit of the Reich[24].

The armistice agreement required general demobilization and the abolition of national service, so that in July 1940 the French military authorities found themselves managing two contingents: those of demobilized soldiers (40,000 men) and those mobilized in June (50,000 men). The army general staff opted to transfer this contingent to the Youth Work Camps. Laws passed on July 30, 1940 and January 18, 1941 introduced compulsory community service: every 20-year-old male French citizen living in the free zone was required to spend 8 months in a Youth Work Camp[25].

As a result, Paul Geismar was demobilized and sent to a Youth Work Camp on August 15,1940 [26]. The workcamps were first and foremost an educational project. Life in the countryside, teamwork, manual labor and regular physical training were at the heart of camp life. At the same time, the camps were intended to indoctrinate young people with Marshall Pétain’s ideology. For the Vichy government, it was above all a question of training patriotic citizens to be propagandists for the National Revolution who, on leaving the camps, would spread Pétain’s rhetoric among their fellow citizens[27].

Paul spent nearly 6 months in the workcamps. He was released on February 6,1941[28].

Vichy’s anti-Semitic policy extended to the work camps: all young people deemed to be Jewish according to a decree dated June 2, 1941 (the second status of Jews) were expelled from the camps. This ban was extended by a decree dated July 23, 1942, which prohibited all Jews from taking part in internships[29].

Paul Geismar’s arrest (July 14, 1944) and deportation (July 31, 1944)  

Before he was arrested, Paul Geismar was living in Lyon, in the Rhone department of France, either at 12 rue des Capucins[30] or at 38 avenue Paul Painlevé[31].

At 10pm on July 14, 1944, Paul, then aged 24, was arrested by the militia in Lyon as a result of a tip-off from a female militia member [32]. He was initially interned in Lyon and then transferred to Drancy[33].

Drancy was a transit camp, where Jews were gathered before being deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau. When they arrived at Drancy, the French authorities confiscated all the internees’ possessions, diligently filling out a card for each person[34]. Duplicate receipts for confiscated valuables were issued by the Jewish security force. For example, the authorities confiscated 6755 francs from Paul Geismar, as confirmed by a receipt dated July 26, 1944 and signed by the “Chief of the Jewish police” at Drancy camp[35].

On July 31, 1944, Paul was deported from Drancy to Auschwitz-Birkenau on Convoy 77, as documented by the original deportation convoy list[36]. He arrived in Auschwitz-Birkenau on August 3, 1944 and was probably sent straight to the gas chambers. He was later officially declared to have died in Auschwitz on August 5, 1944[37].

What became of Paul Geismar’s relatives after 1945?

In July 1945, after the war, Alice Geismar, Paul Geismar’s sister, a steno-typist, was living at 12 rue des Capucins in Lyon, in the Rhone department of France[38], where Paul also appears to have been living at the time of his arrest. Alice married Henri Roos, a salesman born on October 16, 1904 in Mackenheim, in the Bas-Rhin department of France [39], on July 31, 1945 in Romans-sur-Isère in the Drôme department of France[40]. Henri Roos, who lived at 9 rue Etienne Dolet in Romans-sur-Isère, was the son of Jacques Roos, deceased, and Henriette Roos née Wahl, who lived with her son. Henri Roos had been in the 69th artillery regiment and was a French prisoner of war[41] for five years, from 1940 through 1945 [42] [43].

On December 13, 1947, Paul’s brother-in-law, Henri Roos, submitted a request to the French Ministry of Veterans and Victims of War to have Paul Geismar’s status as a “non-returned person” officially confirmed. He wrote in his application: “We have had no further news since [Paul Geismar was arrested], nor any other information”[44]. In 1947, Henri Roos was living at 3 rue des Clefs in Colmar and appears to have owned a shoe store at the same address[45].

The Mulhouse Court declared Paul Geismar officially dead in a ruling dated November 19, 1948 [46]. The date of his death was deemed to be August 5, 1944. On December 3, 1948, the town hall in Saint-Louis, in the Haut-Rhin department, recorded the ruling made by the Mulhouse court[47].

According to a decree issued by the Secretary of State for Veterans and Victims of War on November 4, 1992 and published in the French Official Gazette on December 24, 1992, Paul Geismar was acknowledged to have “died during deportation”. This phrase was added to Paul Geismar’s death certificate on January 14, 1994[48]. However, the death certificate does not bear the words “died for France”, to which all Jewish people who were deported on grounds of their “race” are entitled.

Henri Roos died in Colmar on September 27 1974[49] at the age of 69. His wife Alice, Paul Geismar’s sister, died in Colmar on September 14 1995 at the age of 79[50]. They are both buried in the Jewish cemetery in Colmar.

Memorials

Paul Geismar’s name is inscribed on the Wall of Names at the Shoah Memorial in Paris[51] and on the memorials in the Jewish cemeteries in Colmar[52] and Hegenheim. In Hegenheim, the monument lists the names of all the Jewish deportees who once lived in Saint-Louis.

Paul Geismar’s life could be further commemorated by the placement of a Stolperstein, a memorial paving stone designed by the German artist Gunter Demnig, outside his former home at 3 rue des Vosges in Saint-Louis, in the Haut-Rhin department of France.

This biography was completed on July 14, 2024

 

Notes and references

[1]  Paul Geismar’s birth certificate, Colmar Municipal archives.

[2]  Rue du Logelbach has since been renamed Rue Edouard Richard.

[3]  Alphonse Abraham Geismar’s birth certificate, Haut-Rhin Departmental archives, online.

[4]  1920, 1923/1924, and 1926 Colmar town directories, Colmar Municipal archives.

[5]  1923/1924 Colmar town directory, Colmar Municipal archives.

[6]  Jeanne Lévy’s birth certificate, Haut-Rhin Departmental archives, online.

[7] According Paul Geismar’s birth certificate, Colmar Municipal archives.

[8] Alice Geismar’s birth certificate, Colmar Municipal archives.

[9] There are no military records in the name of Abraham Geismar in the Haut-Rhin departmental archives. Records consulted: 17 AL2/272 Géhant to Geismar; 18AL2/60.

[10] Léopold Geismar’s death certificate, Colmar Municipal archives.

[11] Berthe Geismar née Bollag’s death certificate, Colmar Municipal archives.

[12]  Alphonse Abraham Geismar’s death certificate, Colmar town hall.

[13] 1927 and 1929 Colmar town directories, Colmar Municipal archives.

[14] Quarterly reports for students at the Bartholdi boys’ school in Colmar, Haut-Rhin Departmental archives, AL/7361.

[15] Quarterly reports for students at the Bartholdi boys’ school in Colmar, Haut-Rhin Departmental archives, AL/7361.

[16] Quarterly reports for students at the Bartholdi boys’ school in Colmar, Haut-Rhin Departmental archives, AL/7362.

[17]  Jeanne Geismar née Lévy’s death certificate, Colmar town hall.

[18] Record viewed at the Haut-Rhin Departmental archives: AL 202901.

[19] We searched the registers of deeds of the Colmar Court from 1930 to 1931, section Z. Record viewed at the Haut-Rhin Departmental archives: 74AL/4701.

[20] Quarterly reports for students at the Bartholdi boys’ school in Colmar Haut-Rhin Departmental archives: AL/7362.

[21]  Paul Geismar ‘s death certificate (act n°75 in the year 1948), Town of Saint-Louis, Victims of Contemporary Conflicts Archives Division of the Ministry of Defense Historical Service, in Caen, Normandy (this record was provided by the Convoy 77 non-profit organization).

[22]  Paul Geismar’s military service record, “Feuillet nominatif de contrôle” (Personal check sheet), Haut-Rhin Departmental archives, 18AL2/549.

[23] Paul Geismar’s military service record “Feuillet nominatif de contrôle” (Personal check sheet), Haut-Rhin Departmental archives: 18AL2/549.

[24] In July 1940, the two heads of the civil authorities, Robert Wagner in Alsace and Joseph Bürckel in Moselle, decided to rid Alsace-Moselle of all “undesirable elements” unworthy of populating German lands: Jews, gypsies, criminals, incurables, Frenchmen and Welschisants were to be expelled to the unoccupied zone. Jews in Alsace-Moselle were given between one and twenty-four hours to prepare to leave, and could only take with them a suitcase weighing between about 45 and 65 pounds and a relatively small sum of money. From Freddy Raphaël’s, Les Juifs d’Alsace et de Lorraine de 1870 à nos jours, (The Jews of Alsace and Lorraine from 1870 to the present day) Paris, Albin Michel, 2018.

[25] Christophe Pécout’s, “Les chantiers de la jeunesse (1940-1944): une expérience de service civil obligatoire” (Youth work camps (1940-1944): an experiment in compulsory community service), Agora débats/ jeunesses, 2008/1 (n°47), pp. 24-33. Published online by Cairn.info on 04/11/2012.

[26] Paul Geismar’s military service record “Feuillet nominatif de contrôle” (Personal check sheet), Haut-Rhin Departmental archives: 18AL2/549.

[27] Christophe Pécout’s, “Les chantiers de la jeunesse (1940-1944): une expérience de service civil obligatoire” (Youth work camps (1940-1944): an experiment in compulsory community service), Agora débats/ jeunesses, 2008/1 (n°47), pp. 24-33. Published online by Cairn.info on 04/11/2012.

[28] Paul Geismar’s military service record “Feuillet nominatif de contrôle” (Personal check sheet), Haut-Rhin Departmental archives: 18AL2/549.

[29] Christophe Pécout’s, “Pour une autre histoire des Chantiers de la Jeunesse (1940-1944)”,( Another history of the Youth Work Camps (1940-1944)) Vingtième Siècle. Revue d’Histoire, 2012/4 (n°116), pp. 97-107. Published online by Cairn.info on 22/10/2012.

[30] Information provided by Henri Roos as part of his application to have the status of a “non-returned person” officially recorded (December 13, 1947), Victims of Contemporary Conflicts Archives Division of the Ministry of Defense Historical Service, in Caen, Normandy (this record was provided by the Convoy 77 non-profit organization).

[31] According to Mr. Paul Geismar’s receipt, Drancy search book no. 161, receipt no. 6923, and the original list deportation convoy list, available on the Shoah Memorial website.

[32] Information provided by Henri Roos as part of his application to have the status of a “non-returned person” officially recorded (December 13, 1947), Victims of Contemporary Conflicts Archives Division of the Ministry of Defense Historical Service, in Caen, Normandy (this record was provided by the Convoy 77 non-profit organization).

[33] Paul Geismar’s missing person’s certificate dated January 31, 1948, Victims of Contemporary Conflicts Archives Division of the Ministry of Defense Historical Service, in Caen, Normandy (this record was provided by the Convoy 77 non-profit organization).

[34] Annette Wieviorka and Michel Laffitte, A l’intérieur du camp de Drancy, (Inside Drancy camp) Paris, Perrin, 2015.

[35] Receipt in the name of Mr. Paul Geismar, Drancy search log book n°161, receipt n°6923, available on the Shoah Memorial website.

[36] Original deportation convoy list, Shoah Memorial, Paris.

[37] Acte de décès de Paul Geismar (acte n°75 de l’année 1948), Ville de Saint-Louis, Victims of Contemporary Conflicts Archives Division of the Ministry of Defense Historical Service, in Caen, Normandy (this record was provided by the Convoy 77 non-profit organization).

[38] Alice Geismar and Henri Roos marriage certificate, certified as a true copy on December 15 2020, Romans-sur-Isère town hall.

[39] Henri Roos’ birth certificate, Bas-Rhin Departmental archives, 4 E 277/19, online.

[40]  Alice Geismar and Henri Roos marriage certificate, certified as a true copy on December 15 2020, Romans-sur-Isère town hall.

[41] Official list of French prisoners of war, based on information provided by the German military authority/ National Prisoner of War Information Center – 1940/09/20 (N19), list available on the BNF Gallica website.

[42] Henri Roos wrote the words “ancien P.G. de cinq ans” (former prisoner of war for five years) on the bottom of his letter dated October 24, 1947 toVictims of Contemporary Conflicts Archives Division of the Ministry of Defense Historical Service, in Caen, Normandy (this record was provided by the Convoy 77 non-profit organization).

[43] There is no military service record in the name of Henri Roos, record viewed at the Haut-Rhin Departmental archives: 18AL2/308.

[44]  Henri Roos’ application to have the status of a “non-returned person” officially recorded (December 13, 1947),, Victims of Contemporary Conflicts Archives Division of the Ministry of Defense Historical Service, in Caen, Normandy (this record was provided by the Convoy 77 non-profit organization).

[45] Henri Roos used paper with the letter of his store, “Chaussures Roos”, in his letters of October 24, 1947 and December 27, 1947, to the French Ministry of Veterans and Victims of War, Victims of Contemporary Conflicts Archives Division of the Ministry of Defense Historical Service, in Caen, Normandy (this record was provided by the Convoy 77 non-profit organization).

[46] Copy of the transcript of the ruling issued by the Mulhouse Court on November 19, 1948, Victims of Contemporary Conflicts Archives Division of the Ministry of Defense Historical Service, in Caen, Normandy (this record was provided by the Convoy 77 non-profit organization).

[47] Paul Geismar’s death certificate, certified as a true copy on December 16, 2020, Saint-Louis town hall (Haut-Rhin).

[48]  Paul Geismar’s death certificate, certified as a true copy on December 16, 2020, Saint-Louis town hall (Haut-Rhin).

[49] From the note on Henri Roos’ birth certificate, Bas-Rhin Departmental archives, 4 E 277/19, online.

[50] From the note on Alice Geismar’s birth certificate, Colmar Municipal archives.

[51] Inscription on the Wall of Names. Shoah Memorial website.

[52] Y figure: Paul Geismar (age 24).