__NOTOC__ Léon "Lejb" Goldberg, known as Julien (14 February 1924 in Łódź – 21 February 1944), was a

Polish Jew The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Jews, Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the long pe ...

and volunteer fighter in the French Liberation army FTP-MOI in the Manouchian Group.

Biography

Youth

Goldberg was born in

Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. In 1928, his father Samuel Goldberg (b. 1901), immigrated to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

with his wife Riwka Gelemer and his son. They stayed in Paris where two other children were born, Henry in 1931 and Max in 1934.

World War II

When the

mass arrest A mass arrest occurs when police apprehend large numbers of suspects at once. This sometimes occurs at protests. Some mass arrests are also used in an effort to combat gang activity. This is sometimes controversial, and lawsuits sometimes result. ...

of more than 13,000 Jews, the

Vel' d'Hiv Roundup The Vel' d'Hiv' Roundup ( ; from , an abbreviation of ) was a mass arrest of Jews in Paris on 16–17 July 1942 by Vichy French police at the behest of the German occupational authorities. Occurring during World War II, Jews arrested during ...

, was carried out in Paris on 16 July 1942, Léon's parents sent him and his two brothers into hiding with a neighbour. His parents were arrested; his father was held at Beaune-la-Rolande and Camp of Royallieu transit camps before being deported to

Auschwitz Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It consisted of Auschw ...

concentration camp A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploitati ...

on 31 July 1942. His mother and two brothers were held at the

Pithiviers Pithiviers () is a commune in the Loiret department, north central France. It is one of the subprefectures of Loiret. It is twinned with Ashby-de-la-Zouch in Leicestershire, England and Burglengenfeld in Bavaria, Germany. Its attractions in ...

and

Drancy Drancy () is a commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris in the Seine-Saint-Denis department in northern France. It is located 10.8 km (6.7 mi) from the center of Paris. History Toponymy The name Drancy comes from Medieval Lati ...

transit camps, and deported to

on 19 August 1942. Goldberg was known within the resistance under the pseudonym "Julien", and his false papers were in the name of "Gérard Charton". On 23 September 1943 Goldberg, Joseph Boczov and two other fighters from the FTP-MOI took a train to

Brie-Comte-Robert Brie-Comte-Robert () is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. Brie-Comte-Robert is on the edge of the plain of Brie and was formerly the capital of the ''Brie française''. "Brie" come ...

. From there they made their way to

Coubert Coubert () is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. Demographics The inhabitants are called ''Curtibéhardiens''. See also * Communes of the Seine-et-Marne department The following ...

, where they sabotaged the railway. The next day they took the train to Lieusaint to return to Paris. On 21 October 1943 Goldberg, Boczov, Maurice Fingercwajg, Jonas Geduldig (called "Martiniuk"), Thomas Elek and a sixth resistance fighter, all from the MOI, left on a mission to stop a German convoy on the Paris-

Troyes Troyes () is a Communes of France, commune and the capital of the Departments of France, department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within ...

line at Grandpuits near Mormant. During the night they attacked a train with 51 wagons. 27 wagons were destroyed, blocking the two rails and destroying

wheat Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...

wood Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin t ...

, assorted packages and

aircraft engine An aircraft engine, often referred to as an aero engine, is the power component of an aircraft propulsion system. Aircraft using power components are referred to as powered flight. Most aircraft engines are either piston engines or gas turbin ...

s. The guards were killed and the train driver was lightly injured. However, the fighters had been observed by the BS2. Three of the participants were killed or taken prisoner, and the other three escaped but were identified. Goldberg was arrested at Mormant, and shot at the fort

Mont Valérien Mont may refer to: Places * Mont., an abbreviation for Montana, a U.S. state * Mont, Belgium (disambiguation), several places in Belgium * Mont, Hautes-Pyrénées, a commune in France * Mont, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, a commune in France * Mont, Sa� ...

on 21 February 1944 with the other members of the Affiche rouge.

External links

*
La journée d'un « Terroriste »
*

*
Article de Léon Goldberg
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goldberg, Leon 1924 births 1944 deaths Jews in the French resistance FTP-MOI Polish Jews who died in the Holocaust Resistance members killed by Nazi Germany Polish people executed by Nazi Germany Executed people from Łódź Voivodeship Polish emigrants to France Military personnel from Łódź People executed by Nazi Germany by firing squad Deaths by firearm in France People executed by Nazi Germany occupation forces