Arlette Baker

Arlette is a true Parisian raised and educated in Paris, born into an assimilated French-Jewish family.  Her grandfather's first cousin, Louis-Germain Levy was actually the first Reform Rabbi in Paris.

At the end of December 1942, her parents, Fernand and Renee Levy, and 4 year old Arlette were arrested in their apartment by two French Nazis.  Arlette's father was able to bribe the two men. They let her go with the maid to her grandparents. This saved her life. Her parents were taken to the concentration camp of Drancy, a suburb of Paris, and then deported to Auschwitz where they were put to death in February 1943.

Arlette is a very active speaker who has been an invited guest at commemorations and other Holocaust education events, and she recently appeared at the Memorial de la Shoah in Paris. During this annual ceremony she read the names of her parents and other victims from France who were sent to concentration camps where they were murdered. Over 73,000 were arrested and sent to death camps, and her parents were sent to Auschwitz. The readings take place for 24 hours, which include about half of the victims, and the others are read the following year.

Arlette was raised and educated in Paris, and today she is a dual citizen of the United States and France. She earned graduate degrees in French and Latin here in the U.S. and went on to become a Latin teacher in Chappaqua.

Today, in addition to her appearances as a speaker, she lectures and translates documents on the Holocaust. She writes in her memoir, Undaunted, that “I survived for a reason. Everything good I did, and I am still doing was and is in memory and in honor of my parents.”

“During my visit to the Memorial de la Shoah this year, I was so moved by teachers bringing their students to read some of the names of the Holocaust victims. I hope to inspire more people, especially the youth who will serve to the lead the way in the future and preserve my story about the Holocaust and many more.”

Arlette came to America to marry her late husband, William Baker. She enrolled at NYU and obtained graduate degrees in French and classical Latin, subjects she taught in Chappaqua. She is now retired. In addition to the USA, Arlette lives in Canada and in France. Arlette is active in her temple, in Social Action and Caring Community Committees. She was for several years the chair of the Holocaust Remembrance Committee at her synagogue. She spearheaded the installation of a Holocaust Memorial on the grounds of Temple Shaaray Tefila in Bedford, NY.  She lectures and translates documents on the Holocaust.

Download her journey here: Arlette Baker