Rene Lichtman

"Be tolerant and get to know other people so you won't fall for stereotyping. We were stereotyped, and that led to anti-Semitism.  Also, don’t be a bystander.  The people who saved both my mother and I were normal people who took a position.  I think they knew the danger they were taking to save our lives."

Date of birth
12/04/1937
Where were you born?
Where did you grow up?
Paris, France (until age 13)
Name of father, occupation
Jacob Lichtman, Tailor, He was killed while serving in the French army after the German invasion of France
Maiden name of mother, occupation
Helen Zajdman (Seidman), Homemaker
Immediate family (names, birth order)
My parents and me
How many in entire extended family?
Large extended family
Who survived the Holocaust?
Me and my mother, an uncle, an aunt and four cousins
My parents came to Paris from Poland in the 1930’s.  I was 2 ½ years old when the war broke out.  I stayed in a small private house, or “day care” that was run by a French woman, Anne Lepage, outside of Paris in the small town of Le Vert-Galant.  When the war broke out, Mrs. Lepage and her husband offered to hide me.  Mrs. Lepage was very protective of me, to try to ensure that I would not be discovered as a Jewish child.  She shielded me not to go outside and to stay away from her neighbors.  
 
My mother visited me periodically during the first part of the war.  In 1942, however, my mother went into hiding herself with neighbors in her apartment building in Paris.  Mrs. Lepage thought my mother had died and had me baptized.  When the war ended, I was 6 ½ years old.  My mother survived and came for me.  It was a difficult transition leaving my “French mother” to return to my Jewish birth mother. 
 
In 1945, I began school in Paris and slowly learned what it meant to be Jewish. I also continued my relationship with my French family. 
 
In 1950, my mother came to the US and remarried.  I moved to the USA in 1950, at age 13, where I became “an American kid.”  I would visit my “French mother” periodically.  Eventually, both of my Christian Rescuers passed away.  I have visited their graves to pay my respects.  I have found some degree of closure.
 
To learn more about Rene Lichtman, please visit these sites.

Where were you in hiding?
Near Paris in Le Vert-Galant with a French, Christian family
Where did you go after being liberated?
Paris, France
When did you come to the United States?
1950, at the age of 13
Where did you settle?
New York
Occupation after the war
Artist and health educator
When and where were you married?
1971
Spouse
Cathy Lichtman
Children
Joshua, David, and Risa
What do you think helped you to survive?
I think the love of my French mother in the early years. Also the hard work of my strong, natural mother, who worked in the sweat shops of New York to help support us, was an important role model for me.
What message would you like to leave for future generations?
Be tolerant and get to know other people so you won't fall for stereotyping. We were stereotyped, and that led to anti-Semitism.  Also, don’t be a bystander.  The people who saved both my mother and I were normal people who took a position.  I think they knew the danger they were taking to save our lives.

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