Tribute to Henri Kaufman, former child of Izieu

Group of former children of the house, with children and adults in front of the house, 6 April 2014. In the foreground on the right Henri Kaufman, behind him on his right Bernard Waysenson, in the background on the left Roger Wolman.

 

We want to pay our tributes to Henri Kaufman, one of the 105 children of Izieu.
He died on 8th August 2023, at the age of 85.

Henri was born in 1937. Due to his mother’s health problems, he was soon placed in a children’s home in Bougival. He hereby unknowingly escaped his family’s arrest in Nice in July 1942.
An uncle, who lived in Nice worried about him, after his parents’ deportation. He had the child returned to Bougival in October 1943, but was arrested and deported in the meantime.

Henri arrived in Izieu on 30 October 1943. Upon his arrival, he was recognized by one of his cousins, Henri Wolman, who had arrived a few days earlier with his brother Roger Wolman.

The three of them left Izieu on 6 November 1943 and were accommodated at a farm near Clermont-Ferrand, where they herded sheep.

After the war, Henri was taken in by an uncle. He lived in Paris, then in Rennes.
He often came back to Izieu for the remembrance ceremonies. We fondly remember his last visit with the other children of Izieu in 2019.

 

Group of former children of the house, ceremony of 6 april 2019. Henri Kaufman alongside Roger Wolman, Samuel Pintel, Hélène, Adolphe and Bernard Waysenson.