This booklet was made by residents of the OSE (‘’Oeuvre de Secours aux Enfants’’) orphanage of Le Vésinet in France. It contains texts written by Jewish children who survived the Holocaust and grew up in the orphanage.
A Souvenir from a OSE Orphenage
This booklet was made by residents of the OSE (‘’Oeuvre de Secours aux Enfants’’) orphanage of Le Vésinet in France. Inside it are texts written by Jewish children who survived the Holocaust and grew up in the orphanage.
Text written by Jacques Knoploch, a young man about to leave the orphanage, in which he expresses his gratitude for his time at the house.
Description of the room’s decorations, including Jacques’ room with cinema and Charlie Chaplin posters.
Jacques Kasma: A Child Rescued by the OSE
Jacques Kasma, born Kaszemacher, was one of the young men rescued by the OSE, a Jewish organization which saved more than 5,000 children during the Holocaust. His parents, Henri Kaszemacher and Chaja Sura Bajwelcwaig, were originally from Poland, but settled in Paris before he was born. Jacques’ father was a driver in the French Army and captured in 1940. His mother was deported to the Drancy Camp in 1943. Jacques was hidden in Normandy during the war, before being rescued by the OSE. He lived in the orphanage until his 18th birthday in 1953.
Jacques Kasma Known as Tit-Bo from La boîte à surprises
In the orphanage, Jacques met the famous Marcel Marceau who taught him the art of mime. He settled in Montreal in 1960 and played the mime Tit-Bo in La boîte à surprises, a popular children’s television show. Besides working in cinema, Jacques was a member of the research team at the Douglas Psychiatric Hospital for more than 20 years.
This booklet, along with other documents, was acquired by the Montreal Holocaust Museum in 2014.
This project is part of the implementation of the Plan culturel numérique du Québec
