France 2 is broadcasting the TV movie “The Story of Annette Zelman” this Wednesday, January 25, 2023 at 9:10 p.m. This one returns to the deportation of a Jewish woman loved by a man who was not.
[Mis à jour le 25 janvier 2023 à 20h30] The story of Annette Zelman is a TV movie broadcast on France 2 this Wednesday, January 25, 2023. This fiction tells the true story of a young Jewish woman aged 20, in the midst of the German occupation in Paris. Annette Zelman (Ilona Bachelier) falls madly in love with Jean Jausion (Vassili Schneider, brother of Niels Schneider), a notable non-Jew. While part of her family leaves Paris, Annette refuses to accompany them, determined to finish her studies at the Beaux-Arts and marry her fiancé. But the parents of the latter are opposed to their union. To prevent it, they report the young woman to the Gestapo.
Annette Zelman was then deported and died in the Auschwitz camp three days after her arrival. Only a hundred letters, written by the young woman are accessible to us today. Her fiancé, Jean Jausion, became a war correspondent and died on the eve of the Armistice, in Germany. It is the subject of a book, written by Laurent Joly. It should also be noted that Michèle Kersz Zelman, the real sister of the protagonist, now 94 years old, participated in the France 2 TV movie: “At the Liberation, we all returned to Paris. Except Annette, she remembers with the Parisian. And then, we received a letter from the government, saying that she died three days after arriving at Auschwitz. We have rebuilt ourselves, because we have to do it well.”
Synopsis – During the Second World War, in 1941, in Paris, at the beginning of the German occupation. Fine Arts student, Annette, meets Jean. She is 20 years old, he is barely older, they fall in love with each other and, despite the circumstances, look to the future with confidence. They quickly declare their intention to marry. But Jean’s parents do not see this union in a good light. Indeed, Annette is Jewish. Determined to avoid the dishonor of what they consider to be a misalliance, they warn their son and order him to break off. Madly in love, Jean refuses…