Early Life for the Malmed Family

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Leon Malmed was born on October 4, 1937 in a small town, 45 miles outside of Paris called Compiègne, France. Leon’s father, Srul and mother, Chana were of Polish descent, who decided to immigrate to France in the 1930s. Leon grew up with one sister, Rachel who was born in 1932. The family lived in a house located next to one of the main bridges in the city. Srul and Chana would speak Yiddish and Polish to each other in the house. Leon’s father was a tailor in the community and his mother worked as a seamstress. It was a happy family until the landscape of Europe shifted. On September 3, 1939, Great Britain and France declared war on Germany for they had invaded Poland a couple of days before. Leon’s father enlisted in the Polish Division of the French Army. Srul was immediately sent to the front lines. Following the swift Nazi defeat of France in June 1940, he was able to escape capture by changing into civilian clothes in order to ditch his military uniform and return home. The Germans had been bombing all major railways and bridges throughout France. The bridge that was right next to Leon’s family home was bombed and the house was destroyed right along with it. Luck would have it that his mother left the house just ten minutes before the bridge was destroyed. Leon’s father rejoined the family in Paris. They had to make the difficult decision of what to do next. They decided it would be best for the family if they would return to their hometown of Compiègne.