Lucien Lazare, a Franco-Israeli historian and former Jewish resistance fighter who dedicated his life to documenting the Holocaust and honoring those who rescued the persecuted, has died in Jerusalem at the age of 101, according to his family.
Born in Strasbourg in 1924, Lazare lived a life defined by direct resistance against Nazi occupation before turning his energy to historical preservation. Born in Strasbourg in 1924, he had dedicated a large part of his life to studying the Resistance, transmitting the memory of the Shoah, and recognizing those who helped persecuted Jews during the Second World War. He was also recognized as one of the two last surviving maquisards from Vabre (as reported by Le Journal d’Ici).
From the Maquis of Vabre to the Liberation of Castres
Before becoming a researcher and educator, Lazare took up arms against the occupying forces. As a member of the Éclaireurs israélites de France, he joined the Marc Haguenau company. In that role, he participated directly in the combats of the Liberation, including the liberation of Castres in the Tarn region in 1944. Those wartime experiences shaped his intellectual and personal trajectory, steering him toward a lifelong study of underground networks and civilian courage.
Rather than framing resistance purely in terms of armed combat, Lazare viewed it through a broader lens of moral refusal. He considered individuals who hid, accompanied, or protected persecuted Jews without taking up weapons to be non-violent resisters. His focus centered squarely on the ordinary citizens who risked their lives to shelter others from deportation under the Nazi regime.
Documenting the Justes Among Nations at Yad Vashem
After the war, Lucien Lazare exercised responsibilities in education and community life in Strasbourg. After the war, Lazare spent years working in education and community leadership in Strasbourg before immigrating to Israel in 1968. Settling in Jerusalem, he directed a high school while deepening his historical scholarship. His path also became part of the history of the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial.
At Yad Vashem, he served on the commission responsible for designating the Righteous Among the Nations—the official title bestowed upon non-Jews who attempted to save Jews during the Holocaust at serious personal risk. His published works included a dictionary dedicated to the Righteous of France, reflecting his commitment to individual human stories and the diverse forms of rescue.
A Lifelong Mission to Chasser La Haine
Lazare maintained a clear view of why remembering the past mattered for the future. In a 2022 interview with the francophone web radio Studio Qualita, he was asked about the core value he hoped to pass down to younger generations. His answer was stark and purposeful: Chasser la haine
—to chase away the hatred.
That concise directive underpinned his entire body of work. For him, historical documentation served as an active civic defense against the recurring mechanisms of bigotry and social rejection, ensuring that the legacy of wartime solidarity continued to challenge hatred in the modern world.