My Voice: Suzanne Harris

Suzanne Harris was born in Paris in 1919. When World War II broke out, her father signed up for the Foreign Legion and later became a prisoner of war. Suzanne, her sister and mother stayed in Paris for 2 years during the war, but it became too difficult and risky for Jews there. In 1943, they fled to Argenty in the countryside to join their extended family, only reaching it safely with the help of brave strangers.

After liberation, Suzanne and her family returned to Paris, to find that her grandparents’ flat had been given to French collaborators by the Germans. After moving to England in 1947, Suzanne married, settled down and started a family. She was very active in Manchester’s Jewish community and was closely connected with many charities and her local synagogue.

Suzanne’s book is part of the My Voice book collection, a stand-alone project of The Fed, the leading Jewish social care charity in Manchester, dedicated to preserving the life stories of Holocaust survivors and refugees from Nazi persecution who settled in the UK. The oral history, which is recorded and transcribed, captures their entire lives from before, during and after the war years. The books are written in the words of the survivor so that future generations can always hear their voice. The My Voice book collection is a valuable resource for Holocaust awareness and education.

The Fed is Manchester’s leading social care charity serving the Jewish community. In June 2021, The Fed were awarded the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service for the My Voice Project, the highest possible accolade for a voluntary sector group.