Nissim de Camondo (23 August 1892 – 5 September 1917) was a French military officer and a member of the prominent

Camondo family The Camondo family was a prominent Judaism, Jewish family of financiers and philanthropists who were active in Europe and the Ottoman Empire. History The Camondo family was once part of the Sephardi Jews, Sephardic community in Spain, but the f ...

. Born in

Boulogne-Billancourt Boulogne-Billancourt (; often colloquially called simply Boulogne, until 1924 Boulogne-sur-Seine, ) is a wealthy and prestigious Communes of France, commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France, located from the Kilometre zero, centre of Paris ...

and named for his grandfather, he was the son of

Moïse de Camondo Count Moïse de Camondo (15 March 1860 – 14 November 1935) was an Ottoman Empire-born French banker and art collector. He was a member of the prominent Camondo family. Biography As a child, Camondo moved with his family from their home in Con ...

, a wealthy Jewish banker, and countess Irène Cahen d'Anvers. As the only son of two children, Nissim de Camondo was expected to take over the family business. However, immediately upon the outbreak of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he joined the French army, then served as a pilot in the

air force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

. Lieutenant Nissim de Camondo died in 1917 during aerial combat in

Lorraine Lorraine, also , ; ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; ; ; is a cultural and historical region in Eastern France, now located in the administrative region of Grand Est. Its name stems from the medieval kingdom of ...

and was buried in the

Montmartre Cemetery The Cemetery of Montmartre () is a cemetery in the 18th arrondissement of Paris, France, that dates to the early 19th century. Officially known as the Cimetière du Nord, it is the third largest necropolis in Paris, after the Père Lachaise Cemet ...

, in Paris. On his death in 1935, Moïse de Camondo bequeathed his Parisian mansion at 63, rue de Monceau (including its contents and a major collection of art) to the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, to be used to create the

Musée Nissim de Camondo The Musée Nissim de Camondo is a historic house museum of French decorative arts located in the Hôtel particulier, Hôtel Moïse de Camondo at 63, rue de Monceau, on the edge of Parc Monceau in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France. The neare ...

in his son's honor. During the

German occupation of France during World War II The Military Administration in France (; ) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zone in areas of northern and western France. This so-called ' was established in June 19 ...

, Camondo's sister, Béatrice, her ex-husband, Léon Reinach, and their two children, Fanny and Bertrand, all died in the

Auschwitz concentration camp Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) d ...

. Camondo's mother, Irène survived by escaping to a villa in the south of France.The Tragedy of the De Camondo-Reinach Family

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Camondo, Nissim de 1892 births 1917 deaths French bankers French Jews 20th-century French Sephardi Jews French military personnel killed in World War I Nissim de Camondo Burials at Montmartre Cemetery People from Boulogne-Billancourt