Alter Mojze Goldman (17 November 1909 – 1988) was a Polish Jew and member of the French Résistance during World War II. He was born in

Lublin Lublin is List of cities and towns in Poland, the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the centre of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin i ...

after the death of his father. Fleeing antisemitic discrimination, Alter emigrated briefly to Germany at some point during the

1920s File:1920s decade montage.png, From left, clockwise: Third Tipperary Brigade Flying Column No. 2 under Seán Hogan during the Irish War of Independence; Prohibition agents destroying barrels of alcohol in accordance to the Eighteenth Amendment to ...

before relocating to France. There, he worked as a miner before joining the

Chasseurs d'Afrique ''Chasseur'' ( , ), a French language, French term for "hunter", is the designation given to certain regiments of France, French and Belgium, Belgian light infantry () or light cavalry () to denote troops trained for rapid action. History T ...

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

and obtaining French citizenship in 1930. A communist, he grew disillusioned by the assassination of Leon Trotsky and the excesses of

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

. In 1939, he was mobilized in the French military and was decorated. After which he went south to the unoccupied part of France (

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

), where he joined the FTP-MOI

Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

movement, which was composed of immigrants.Michaël Prazan, ''L'assassinat de Pierre Goldman'' (2005) - film documentary His unit was involved in urban sabotage efforts. In Lyon, he met Janine Sochaczewska. The couple had a son, Pierre Goldman, in 1944 before separating. Sochaczewska returned to Poland in 1947. With help from some former wartime comrades, Alter abducted Pierre so that he would not grow up in the country that had seen the elimination of so many Jews. In June 1949, Alter married Ruth Ambrunn, another Jewish Résistance fighter, born in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

in 1922. Pierre was then legitimized as their son. The couple had three children together: a daughter, Evelyne, and two sons,

Jean-Jacques Goldman Jean-Jacques Goldman (; born 11 October 1951) is a retired French singer-songwriter and record producer whose work remains hugely popular in the French-speaking world. Since the death of Johnny Hallyday in 2017, he has been the highest-grossing ...

, the pop singer, and Robert Goldman, a songwriter. Goldman was elected to the

Légion d'Honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

on 19 November 1988 for his role in the Résistance. Barely a month later, he passed on at the age of seventy-nine.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goldman, Alter Mojze 1909 births 1988 deaths People from Lublin 20th-century Polish Jews Naturalized citizens of France Members of the Francs-tireurs et partisans Jews in the French resistance Polish emigrants to France Jewish socialists French communists Polish-Jewish diaspora