Annette Brigitte Chalut ( Weill; 29 April 1924 – 8 November 2021) was a French physician who was a member of the

French Resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Biography

Annette Weill was born in April 1924 in Paris, to a Jewish family, the daughter of Pierre Weill, a veteran of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, and his wife, Emma Alexandre. On the outbreak of war, Pierre became an interpreter for the British Army. He was arrested in December 1941 but released in March 1942, reputedly based on the intervention of his wife. The family decided to leave for the free region of France.. At

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

, Annette succeeded in passing her PCB exams, the first step toward obtaining a medical qualification. Along with her father, she joined the Resistance. After a time, the Germans invaded this region of France also. Pierre was arrested again, this time along with his daughter, and she was imprisoned at

Fort de Romainville Fort de Romainville, (in English, ''Fort Romainville'') was built in France in the 1830s and was used as a Nazi concentration camp in World War II. Use in World War II Fort de Romainville was a Nazi prison and transit camp, located in the outs ...

. On 13 May 1944, she was transported to

Ravensbrück concentration camp Ravensbrück () was a German concentration camp exclusively for women from 1939 to 1945, located in northern Germany, north of Berlin at a site near the village of Ravensbrück (part of Fürstenberg/Havel). The camp memorial's estimated figure o ...

. From there she was sent on to Hannover-Limmer concentration camp, which began operation in August 1944; there, she was forced to work on the manufacture of

gas mask A gas mask is a mask used to protect the wearer from inhaling airborne pollutants and toxic gases. The mask forms a sealed cover over the nose and mouth, but may also cover the eyes and other vulnerable soft tissues of the face. Most gas mask ...

s. Finally, she was sent to

Bergen-Belsen Bergen-Belsen , or Belsen, was a Nazi concentration camp in what is today Lower Saxony in northern Germany, southwest of the town of Bergen near Celle. Originally established as a prisoner of war camp, in 1943, parts of it became a concentrati ...

, where she survived until the liberation of 15 April 1945. At this point she was in poor health, weighing only 35 kilos; nevertheless she volunteered to remain behind to help treat those whose suffering was even greater. After the war she married and completed her medical qualifications. She became a general practitioner and a member of the Medico-Social Commission of the Concours national de la résistance et de la déportation. From 1992 on, she served as a member of the International Ravensbrück Committee, and was its president from 1999 to 2015. In 2015, Chalut returned to Ravensbrück in Germany to take a leading role in the celebrations commemorating the liberation of the concentration camp there. On 1 January 2016, she was awarded the rank of grand officier of the

Légion d’honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...

. Chalut died on 8 November 2021, at the age of 97.Die Gedenkstätte Ravensbrück und die Stiftung Brandenburgische Gedenkstätten trauern um Dr. Annette Chalut
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chalut, Annette 1924 births 2021 deaths Physicians from Paris 20th-century French physicians Bergen-Belsen concentration camp survivors French general practitioners French Resistance members Grand Officers of the Legion of Honour