Bernard Mednicki

Bernard Mednicki was a Belgian Jew who fled Belgium with his family when the Nazis invaded during World War II, settled in Volvic, a small town in the mountainous region of southern France, posed as a Christian, and fought in the Maquis, the French Resistance. A natural storyteller in the best tradition of the Jewish Eastern European storytellers like Chaim Potok, Bernard Malamud, and Isaac Bashevis Singer, he tells his amazing true story with help from long-time author Ken Wachsberger in “Never Be Afraid: A Belgian Jew in the French Resistance.” After the war, Bernard and his family settled in Philadelphia where he had extended family. He died on January 2, 1995 and never saw publication of the first edition of his book (titled “Never Be Afraid: A Jew in the Maquis”). However, his goal was to make sure that his family saw his story and they did. After he approved the final 8 ½ x 11 double-spaced manuscript for publication, he photocopied it and shared it with family members.

holocaust memoir    holocaust resistance fighters    jewish resistance    maquis    nazis jews 1930s    nazis jews 1940s    vichy france    world war ii