Gerard Horst Meyerfeld

Born: Unknown, Unknown, Germany

Gerard Horst Meyerfeld was born in Germany but moved to France and lived with his aunt, uncle, and cousin Beatrice. In 1939, because they were foreigners, the uncle was sent to an internment camp near the city of Toulouse in southern France. The family moved to the south to be near him. Gerard's aunt sent him to work on a farm, hoping he would be well fed, but the farmer was collaborating with the Nazi occupiers and Gerard was barely given enough to eat. After a few months, Gerard left to work with the Jewish underground, people who were secretly fighting against the Nazis. He stayed with them until after liberation. Then he joined the French army.

During the war, Gerard's parents remained in Germany. They survived by moving around from place to place and finding work in factories. They most likely used fake names to avoid being captured by the Nazis. After the war ended, Gerard's parents came to the American zone, but it was a few months before Gerard was able to see them. Eventually, his parents moved to the United States and Gerard decided to remain in France. Beatrice and her parents returned to their hometown to look for members of their family, but they did not find anyone alive. Her grandparents, two aunts and uncles, and three cousins had been deported to Auschwitz, as were two other uncles and her other grandmother.