Henri Borlant (né Hirsch Borland; 5 June 1927 – 3 December 2024) was a French doctor, writer, and Holocaust survivor.[1]
Henri Borlant | |
|---|---|
| Born | Hirsch Borland 5 June 1927 |
| Died | 3 December 2024 (aged 97) |
| Nationality | French |
| Occupation(s) | Doctor Writer |
Biography
editBorn in the 10th arrondissement of Paris on 5 June 1927, Borlant's parents were French, non-practicing Jews. His father, Aron Borlant, was a tailor, and his mother, Rachel Beznos, was of Russian origin. He had eight brothers and sisters.[2] He fled from Paris upon the French declaration of war on Germany, settling in Saint-Lambert-du-Lattay.[3] He attended a Catholic school in the village and acquired his Certificat d'études primaires, subsequently becoming an apprentice mechanic.[4]
On 15 July 1942, Borlant was arrested by the Gestapo and temporarily interned in Angers.[4] He was deported to Auschwitz on 20 July 1942 with his brother Bernard, his sister Denise, and his father.[5] His three relatives did not survive. He escaped from the Ohrdruf concentration camp with a friend and took refuge with an anti-Nazi butcher in Ohrdruf, shortly thereafter notifying the United States Army of the concentration camp.[4]
After the war, Borlant returned to France and studied medicine, becoming a doctor. He married a German woman named Hella Holst.[6] He gave his testimony about the Holocaust in the telefilm Les Survivants in 2005 and wrote an autobiography titled Merci d'avoir survécu in 2011.[5]
Borlant died on 3 December 2024, at the age of 97.[7]
References
edit- ^ "Henri Borlant, ancien déporté et «figure de la mémoire de la Shoah», est mort". Le Figaro (in French). 4 December 2024. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
- ^ Klarsfeld, Serge (1978). Le Mémorial de la Déportation des Juifs de France (in French). Paris: Beate et Serge Klarsfeld.
- ^ Touchais, Patrick (21 November 2015). "Henri Borlant, mémoire vive". Angers Mag (in French). Archived from the original on 30 November 2015. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
- ^ a b c "Témoignage d'Henri Borlant, rescapé d'Auschwitz". YouTube (in French). 23 July 2016.
- ^ a b Borlant, Henri (2011). Merci d'avoir survécu (in French). Paris: Seuil. ISBN 2-0210-4471-8.
- ^ "Henri Borlant, passeur de mémoire". Maine-et-Loire (in French). January 2016. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
- ^ Dumoulin, Frédéric (4 December 2024). "Henri Borlant : raconter la Shoah, pour que "tout le monde sache"". TV5Monde (in French). Retrieved 4 December 2024.
External links
edit- Henri Borlant at IMDb
- Henri Borlant discography at Discogs