Postcard to Drancy
Image Slideshow
Serge wrote this postcard to his mother in 1943 and sent it to Drancy camp where she was interned. However, it was returned marked "Rejected by Censor" and "Return to Sender."
During the 1942 Vélodrome d'Hiver roundup, French police instructed the Wajnryb family to pack for "relocation." Serge's mother removed his Star of David badge and told him to escape Paris and go to the countryside.
Eleven-year-old Serge spent six months in hiding with a family in Neuvy-en-Sullias. Then his uncle smuggled him to Vichy France where he survived the remainder of the war hiding in various locations.
Meanwhile, Serge’s mother and brother, three-year-old Édouard, were taken to Drancy transit camp outside of Paris. They were deported separately to Auschwitz death camp, where Édouard was murdered upon arrival.
Donated to the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre by Serge Vanry. 2002.014.001
Transcript
Translated from the original French.]
[Reverse side.]
My dear Mama,
The last news that I received from you that you are in good spirits and in good health was a joy to me, as well as knowing that you are still in the same place. This leads me to believe and hope, more and more that our separation will be short lived and that we will be together with little brother Doudou [Édouard] very soon. News from Dad is reassuring to me. As to myself, I am fine with Aunt Renee. I am going to school with cousin Andre and I am a good student. I leave you in the hope that we will see each other soon.
In the meantime, I kiss you tenderly.
Your little Serge