Marthe Cohn will be talking about her time as a French Jewish spy in occupied France and Germany during the height of the Second World War, at a special event in St. John’s Wednesday.
Rabbi Chanan Chernitsky, director of Chabad of Newfoundland, sought out Cohn after learning about her story and that she had offered public talks in the United States, to see if she might be willing to travel to Newfoundland and Labrador to share here.
“Despite being a Holocaust survivor, she has a unique story because she worked as a spy for the French army,” he said. “She infiltrated Germany as a spy and that’s very unique. It’s a different story of survival … a different angle of the war.”
Cohn, now 98 years old, spoke little of wartime, or of her efforts during the war, before beginning to share more in the 1990s.
She became the subject of a biography “Behind Enemy Lines,” published in 2002.
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In addition to having written stories, Chernitsky said there is something unique about being able to hear an individual relay their own life experiences in person.
It’s becoming an increasingly rare experience, to hear from Holocaust survivors and experiences of the Second World War.
“All of these stories, unfortunately we don’t know how much longer we’ll be able to hear them live and we need to take advantage, to listen. We need to encourage survivors to tell us their stories, so we can say, ‘Never again,’” Chernitsky said.
“You know, just reading from a book, sometimes you don’t get the full picture. (But) you hear talking, you hear the tone of voice, and you see they lived hell on earth.”
Cohn had been expected in St. John’s today, but her original flight was cancelled. She is now scheduled to arrive tonight, still ahead of her evening talk Wednesday.
The event begins at 6:15 p.m. at the Holiday Inn on Portugal Cove Road in St. John’s. Tickets are available at the door ($25), or in advance ($21), with senior and student discounts ($13). Chernitsky noted space is limited.
(NOTE: Updated at 12:50 p.m. to provide link to event, for online ticket purchases.)
