Denise Vernay

Denise Vernay-Jacob (21 June 1924 – 4 March 2013) was a member of the French Resistance during World War II, who operated under the aliases of "Miarka" and "Annie" from 1941. She narrowly avoided the March 1944 roundup of Jews in Nice, France which resulted in the deportation of her parents to Auschwitz concentration camp in occupied Poland. Captured less than three months later, she survived torture by the Gestapo and imprisonment at two Nazi concentration camps – Ravensbrück and Mauthausen. She was rescued by the Red Cross in April 1945 and returned home to France at the conclusion of the war. Although her sisters, Madeleine and Simone, survived imprisonment elsewhere, their parents and brother did not. Vernay-Jacob helped to establish the Fondation de la Résistance to provide support to survivors of the war and honor the memories of those who had perished – efforts which she continued to support throughout her life. Her sister Simone Veil became the first president of the Fondation pour la Mémoire de la Shoah. Vernay-Jacob was honored with multiple awards for her valor.