A story of survival and loss

The following is a synopsis of Suzanne Harris’s book which recounts her life before, during and after the Holocaust.

Suzanne Shusterman was born in Paris in 1919. She and sister Yvette had a happy childhood, enjoying life in Paris before the war.

When World War Two broke out, everything changed. Her father signed up for the Foreign Legion. Suzanne had to wear a yellow star on her clothing and Jews were ostracised. Life was a struggle and there was no food available. The family, including her maternal grandparents, uncle and aunt, fled to the remote village of Argenty, only reaching it safely with the help of brave strangers.

After liberation, the family returned to Paris, to find that Suzanne’s grandparents’ flat had been given to French collaborators by the Germans. They were heartbroken.

In 1947, her family was visited by a cousin from England who decided to take Suzanne back to England with her, where she met Cyril. Marrying in 1949, they built a life together in Manchester and had three children. Tragically, after only 10 years of marriage, Cyril died. In 1960 she married Ron, and they were married for over 50 years.

Suzanne was very active in the Jewish community, associated with many charities – the League of Jewish Women, WIZO, Delamere and The Fed, as well as her local synagogue. She has three children, four grandchildren and a great grandson.

They are a close family and Suzanne spent a lot of time with them. She had not told her children and grandchildren about how hard life had been.

Suzanne passed away in 2022.

“I remember in Paris as a little girl, Grandpa used to take the Metro to go to the Jewish shop to buy meat and fish and everything. There was a synagogue within walking distance.”

Suzanne Harris

“We were on the road for three days and two nights. We saw more dead people and animals on the way. We could hear the Germans coming, trying to kill us, so we jumped into ditches and tried to avoid them. We were lucky”.

Suzanne Harris

“My father went to his grave, having been a prisoner of war for five years, never talking about what happened. People like me, who lived through it, know what happened. I hope that by reading my book people will understand how life was and that what happened back then can never happen again”.

Suzanne Harris

A story of survival and loss

Cookie use