Jacques Lusseyran
Encyclopedia
Jacques Lusseyran was a blind
French
author and political activist.
Lusseyran was born on September 19th, 1924, in Paris
, France
. He became totally blind in a school accident at the age of 8. He soon learned to adapt to being blind and maintained many close friendships, particularly with one boy named Jean. At a young age he became alarmed at the rise of Adolf Hitler
in Germany
and decided to learn the German language so that he could listen to German radio broadcasts. By 1938, when Nazi Germany annexed Austria
, he had accomplished this task.
Germany invaded France
in 1940. In the spring of 1941, at the age of 17, Lusseyran formed a Resistance group
called the Volunteers of Liberty with 52 other boys. He was put in charge of recruitment. The group later merged with another Resistance group called Défense de la France
. In July 1943 he organized and participated in a campaign to drop pro-resistance leaflets on trains, and claimed to carry tear gas
canisters to stop people from interfering, though he never used them.
On July 20, 1943, Lusseyran was arrested by the Gestapo, betrayed by a member of his resistance group. His knowledge of German helped him understand more of the situation than most French prisoners. He was sent to Buchenwald with 2000 other French citizens, where, because he was blind, he did not have to participate in forced labor as most other prisoners did. Soon most of his childhood friends and fellow resistance operatives were arrested, and he met some of them in the concentration camp. Lusseyran helped to motivate a spirit of resistance within the camp, particularly within the French and German prisoners.
In April 1945, he was liberated, surviving German massacres of the concentration camps in which some of his friends were killed. Many of his friends had died during the course of the war, including Jean. After the war, Lusseyran taught French literature
in the United States
and wrote books, including the autobiographical And There Was Light, which chronicles the first 20 years of his life. He died together with his third wife Marie in a car accident in France on July 27, 1971. He is survived by his four children.
Blindness
Blindness is the condition of lacking visual perception due to physiological or neurological factors.Various scales have been developed to describe the extent of vision loss and define blindness...
French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
author and political activist.
Lusseyran was born on September 19th, 1924, in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. He became totally blind in a school accident at the age of 8. He soon learned to adapt to being blind and maintained many close friendships, particularly with one boy named Jean. At a young age he became alarmed at the rise of Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and decided to learn the German language so that he could listen to German radio broadcasts. By 1938, when Nazi Germany annexed Austria
Anschluss
The Anschluss , also known as the ', was the occupation and annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany in 1938....
, he had accomplished this task.
Germany invaded France
Battle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
in 1940. In the spring of 1941, at the age of 17, Lusseyran formed a Resistance group
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
called the Volunteers of Liberty with 52 other boys. He was put in charge of recruitment. The group later merged with another Resistance group called Défense de la France
Défense de la France
Défense de la France is the name given to a group of the French Resistance during the Second World War.Essentially developed in the Northern Zone, Défense de la France distinguishes itself by an activity centred on the distribution of a clandestine newspaper created in August 1941 by a group of...
. In July 1943 he organized and participated in a campaign to drop pro-resistance leaflets on trains, and claimed to carry tear gas
Lachrymatory agent
Tear gas, formally known as a lachrymatory agent or lachrymator , is a non-lethal chemical weapon that stimulates the corneal nerves in the eyes to cause tears, pain, and even blindness...
canisters to stop people from interfering, though he never used them.
On July 20, 1943, Lusseyran was arrested by the Gestapo, betrayed by a member of his resistance group. His knowledge of German helped him understand more of the situation than most French prisoners. He was sent to Buchenwald with 2000 other French citizens, where, because he was blind, he did not have to participate in forced labor as most other prisoners did. Soon most of his childhood friends and fellow resistance operatives were arrested, and he met some of them in the concentration camp. Lusseyran helped to motivate a spirit of resistance within the camp, particularly within the French and German prisoners.
In April 1945, he was liberated, surviving German massacres of the concentration camps in which some of his friends were killed. Many of his friends had died during the course of the war, including Jean. After the war, Lusseyran taught French literature
French literature
French literature is, generally speaking, literature written in the French language, particularly by citizens of France; it may also refer to literature written by people living in France who speak traditional languages of France other than French. Literature written in French language, by citizens...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and wrote books, including the autobiographical And There Was Light, which chronicles the first 20 years of his life. He died together with his third wife Marie in a car accident in France on July 27, 1971. He is survived by his four children.
Books
- Against the Pollution of the I: selected writings of Jacques Lusseyran. New York, NY: Parabola Books, 1999. ISBN 0930407466.
- And There Was Light: autobiography of Jacques Lusseyran, blind hero of the French Resistance. New York, NY: Parabola BooksParabola (magazine)Parabola: Where Spiritual Traditions Meet, whose founder and editor was D.M. Dooling, began publishing in 1976 as a quarterly magazine on the subjects of mythology and the world's religious and cultural traditions. It is published by The Society for the Study of Myth and Tradition, a not-for-profit...
, 1998. ISBN 0930407407.