Francine Christophe was born into a Jewish family in Paris in 1933. As an officer in the French army, her father was taken prisoner of war by the Germans shortly after the start of the Second World War. Francine and her mother were arrested in mid-1942 and held in various internment camps in France. From the Drancy Transit Camps, mother and daughter were sent to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp exchange camp in May 1944. Francine and her mother arrived near Tröbitz on one of the three evacuation transports that left the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in April 1945, where they were liberated on 23 April 1945.
They returned to Paris in June 1945, where the family reunited - her father had also survived the war. Francine completed her schooling and worked as a decorator. She married in 1957 and had two children.
In the 1990s, Francine Christophe wrote down her memories of the time of persecution. She also shared her memories in an audiovisual interview lasting several hours, which we had the honour of conducting with her in 2000. Her book was also published in 2012: "Nicht mehr Eure Welt. A Child in Prisons and Camps 1942-1945" was published in German.
In her role as President of the "Amicale de Bergen-Belsen", she was also one of the signatories of the "Legacy of the Survivors" on the 60th anniversary of the Bergen-Belsen Memorial, which today seems more relevant than ever. (Published in the 2012 Annual Report, p. 6/7)
Our condolences go out to her relatives.