By CRAIG ALANIZ
Reporter/Photographer
press@portisabelsouthpadre.com
Marguerite Levy-Feibelman is seen with her book, “Whisper Your Name into My Ear.” (Staff photo by Ray Quiroga)
A Holocaust survivor and member of the Resistance will be sharing stories of her experience at Chapel by the Sea Thursday, Dec. 6.
Marguerite Levy-Feibelman wrote “Whisper Your Name into My Ear,” a memoir of her time spent in occupied France during the World War II. She said it was a very difficult time for her family.
“We could not confide in anyone, only in our own family for fear of being discovered,” Levy-Feibelman said.
Levy-Feibelman is of Alsatian-French-German descent and escaped Paris ahead of the German army in June, 1940. She lived in the Bionnay, near Saint-Gervais-Mont Blanc in the French Alps with false identity papers that she forged for the family with the help of the scout movement.
“I made our name Christian so our family would not be marked as Jew protecting us from the oppression,” Levy-Feibelman said.
Levy-Feibelman said her understanding of German gave her close calls with German officials. She said being Alsatian gave her the ability to understand German.
“I laughed at their jokes so they thought I was a spy, when they realized I wasn’t, I thanked God for life,” Levy-Feibelman said.
During the occupation, working as a bookkeeper in a sweater factory, she said she was called by the Resistance to participate by producing flyers and other publications because of her experience as a typist.
Levy-Feibelman said even when she worked with the Resistance her secret Jewish heritage was kept a secret.
“I had no way of knowing their feelings toward Jews, they could have been patriotic French and still be against Jewish people, so I stayed quiet,” Levy-Feibelman said.
“Whisper Your Name into My Ear” took 21 years to publish, Levy-Feibelman said. It is made up of notebook diaries, transcripts from the BBC and newspaper headlines from the time period. She said the names in the book are authentic and she worked hard to place the events in the book with historical landmarks that guided their living situation.
“We didn’t live in a vacuum so I made sure to place the events in a way they can be seen in the grand scope of things,” Levy-Feibelman said.
Levy-Feibelman said she has been coming to South Padre Island since 1976 for two months out of the year. She said she enjoys the culture in the Laguna Madre area.
Marguerite Levy-Feibelman will be telling her story at Chapel by the Sea at 3 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 5. She said her book will be available and she will be signing all copies at the event. Copies of her book may also be purchased at all major book outlets.
Read this story in the Nov. 29 edition of the Port Isabel-South Padre Press, or subscribe to our E-Edition by clicking here.
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