Monique Joseph papers

Monique Joseph was born Helga Irene Kaufmann on 3 April 1924 in Cologne, Germany to Sally and Caroline Kaufmann. Her father, Sally Kaufmann (1898-1954), was born on 27 November 1898 to Bertha (1860-1942) and Simon Kaufmann (d. 1932). He had three siblings: Irene (1893-1942), Selma, and Julies (Jules). Sally’s parents kept kosher, and he was a Zionist. He owned a factory that manufactured burlap bags, and was a silent partner in an auction house managed by his brother Jules. Her mother, Caroline Kaufmann (1901-1990), was born Caroline Wolff on 8 September 1901 to Jakob Israel Wolff and Jeannette Wolff (1872-1942, née Gordon). She had one sister, Rose Wolff (later Rose Oppenheimer, 1899-1981), and one brother, Max (d. 1918). Her father was a World War I veteran and worked in the cattle business. Monique’s parents married on 27 November 1922. Caroline’s parents lived nearby in Cologne. Monique attended a public Jewish school. In April 1933 Sally learned he and his business were to be targeted by local Nazi S.A. men. He fled Cologne for Strasbourg, France. Monique, her mother, and other family members followed. In spring 1934 German refugees were expelled from Strasbourg. The family decided that Monique and her mother would return to Cologne to live with Caroline’s parents, and her father would go to Paris. The family was later reunited and then moved to Tours, France. In 1937, Monique’s cousin, Ruth Oppenheimer, came to live with her family. Sally’s mother Bertha, brother Jules, and his sister Irene also moved to Tours with their families. After the war started, Sally, Jules, and Selma’s husband Karl Esser volunteered for the French Army. By 1940 they were stationed in Bellac, France. On 16 July 1942 numerous Jewish families were deported from Tours. Monique’s mother managed to talk the German soldiers out of taking her, Monique, and Ruth. They fled Tours for a farm in Chissay owned by the Chaussard family. From there they traveled to Bellac to be reunited with Sally. On 17 October 1942, Bertha and her daughter Irene were arrested in Tours and deported to Drancy. On 11 November 1942 they were deported to Auschwitz where they both perished. On 16 November 1942 Monique, her mother, and her cousin Ruth were arrested and deported to the Nexon internment camp. Because she could speak French and German, Monique was sent to work in the camp office. While working in the office, one of the guards she met she later learned was working for the Resistance. He worked with her father to help facilitate their escape from Nexon on 31 December 1942. They were provided with false identity cards: Monique lived under the name Monique Colin, her mother was Caroline Colin, and her cousin Ruth was Renee Colin. They received train tickets to Valence where they were reunited with Monique’s father. Monique survived the rest of the war in hiding under her false identity with Jean Delarbre and his family on their farm in Glandoux, Saint-Fortunat-sur-Eyrieux. A neighbor denounced Jean at some point for hiding Monique, but he took her to the house where her parents were hiding. They then moved to another unoccupied house with Ruth. They remained there until liberation in August 1944. After liberation Monique and her family returned to Tours. She also worked in Paris with the American Office of Liquidation. On 26 September 1947 she immigrated to the United States aboard the S.S. Marine Tiger. She settled in New York where she reconnected with fellow Holocaust survivor Théophile Joseph, whom she had met in Tours after the war. They married in 1948, and their daughter Nadine was born in 1952. Sally and Caroline immigrated to the United States in 1952. Caroline’s parents both perished during the Holocaust. Jakob and his son-in-law Eugen Oppenheimer fled to Amsterdam during Kristallnacht. They were both later deported to Auschwitz where they perished. Jeanette and Rose remained in Cologne. They were forced to move after Kristallnacht into a ghetto. Jeanette was deported to Theresienstadt on 16 June 1942, and perished on 22 July 1942. Rose survived the Holocaust.

Théophile Joseph (1920-2019) was born on 5 May 1920 in Neuwiller, Les Saverne, Alsace, France. He had one sister, Francine (1914-2002, later Francine Weil). He came from a large religious Jewish family. After graduating from Collège du Bastberg-Bouxwiller, he worked at Louis Dreyfus Company in Antwerp, Belgium. After the German invasion of Poland in September 1939, he transferred to the Paris branch of his job. After the Germans invaded France in May 1940, Théophile fled with his office to Le Mans and then Bordeaux. From there he went to Tours where he was reunited with his family. In Marseille was conscripted into the Chantiers de Jeunesse and served near the Côte d'Azur. After he was discharged, he reunited with his sister and they worked at Chateâu Langlade. In 1942, his family feared deportation and fled to Clermont Ferrand. In spring 1944 Théophile joined a partisan group known as Revanche. His nickname with the group was “Swing,” chosen for his love of American swing music. His group assisted the Allies by indicating good areas to send in paratroopers. They also distributed weapons, attacked convoys, and engaged in combat with the Germans. After liberation,Théophile’s family returned to Tours, and he resumed his employment with Louis Dreyfer in Paris. On a weekend visit to see his parents in Tours, he met family friend Monique Kaufmann, who worked for the American Office of Liquidation in Paris. They became friends, and both were making plans to immigrate to the United States. Both Théophile and Monique immigrated to the United States in 1947. They reconnected in New York and married in 1948. Their daughter Nadine was born in 1952. Théophile continued to work for Louis Dreyfus, and later became an arbitrator and consultant.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum collection, gift of Monique Joseph

Donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2019 by Monique Joseph.