Marianne Cohn (1922-1944)

Marianne Cohn was born in Mannheim, Germany on 17 September 1922. Her parents, who were German Jews, did not practice Judaism and had little connection to the Jewish community. They left Germany and settled in France where Marianne's parents were deported to the Gurs internment camp as German nationals.

In 1942, Marianne began to smuggle Jewish children out of France. Threatened with deportation in 1943, she was incarcerated at Nice and released three months later. After release, she resumed her underground activities, shuttling two or three groups, each with up to 20 children across the southern border, passing through Lyon and Annecy

Marianne was arrested on May 31, 1944 with a group of 28 children and incarcerated in Annemasse at the Hotel Pax by the Gestapo. Despite being tortured, she did not speak. Her resistance unit formed a plan to free her, but she refused, fearing reprisals on children.

Members of the underground sent a message to the Gestapo, threatening to kill them if the detainees were harmed. Though the children were later rescued, the Gestapo of Lyon sent a team to Annemasse the night of 8 July 1944 to remove six prisoners, including Marianne Cohn. They were kicked and hit with shovels until their death.

Stolperstein in Berlin-Tempelhof -
Here lived Marianne Cohn
Born 1922
Escaped 1934 [to] France
Denounced
Murdered 8/7/1944 in
Ville-la-Grand