Henri Borlant

Henri Borlant (né Hirsch Borland; 5 June 1927 – 3 December 2024) was a French doctor, writer, and Holocaust survivor.^[1]

Henri Borlant
Born	Hirsch Borlant (1927-06-05)5 June 1927 Paris, France
Died	3 December 2024(2024-12-03) (aged 97) Paris, France
Occupation	Physician • Writer

Biography

Born in the 10th arrondissement of Paris on 5 June 1927, Borlant's parents were French, non-practicing Jews. His father, Aron Borlant, was a tailor, and his mother, Rachel Beznos, was of Russian origin. He had eight brothers and sisters.^[2] He fled from Paris upon the French declaration of war on Germany, settling in Saint-Lambert-du-Lattay.^[3] He attended a Catholic school in the village and acquired his Certificat d'études primaires, subsequently becoming an apprentice mechanic.^[4]

On 15 July 1942, Borlant was arrested by the Gestapo and temporarily interned in Angers.^[4] He was deported to Auschwitz on 20 July 1942 with his brother Bernard, his sister Denise, and his father.^[5] His three relatives did not survive. He escaped from the Ohrdruf concentration camp with a friend and took refuge with an anti-Nazi butcher in Ohrdruf, shortly thereafter notifying the United States Army of the concentration camp.^[4]

After the war, Borlant returned to France and studied medicine, becoming a doctor. He married a German woman named Hella Holst.^[6] He gave his testimony about the Holocaust in the telefilm Les Survivants [fr] in 2005 and wrote an autobiography titled Merci d'avoir survécu in 2011.^[5]

Borlant died on 3 December 2024, at the age of 97.^[7]