Marcel Marceau: The Legendary Mime Who Served in the French Resistance, Fought the Nazis, and Saved Countless Children

Renowned French Mime, Marcel Marceau, was born On this Day, March 22, 1923. Expert in the practice of silence, his most famous quote is, "".

Born in Strasbourg, France as Marcel Mangel— his father, Charles Mangel, was a kosher butcher originally from Będzin, Poland. His mother, Anne Werzberg, came from Yabluniv, present-day Ukraine.

When Marcel was four years old, the family moved to Lille, but they later returned to Strasbourg. When he was 16, the Nazis marched into eastern France. Marcel and his family fled with his family to Limoges in the southwest where he lived in hiding.

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He would ultimately change his name to Marceau— to hide his Jewish roots, and to honor François Séverin Marceau-Desgraviers, a general of the French Revolution.

His father was a baritone who loved music and the theater, and he introduced Marcel to both at an early age. Marcel was captivated by the silent film stars of the era: Chaplin, Buster Keaton and the Marx brothers.

He was schooled in the Paris

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21-Year Old WWII Soldier’s Sketchbooks Reveal a Visual Diary of His Experiences

art soldier world war ii wwii Sep 02, 2019

Victor Lundy

True artists must find a creative outlet no matter what the circumstance—including times of war. Thanks to the creative passion and steady hand of then 21-year old soldier Victor Lundy, we have a breathtaking visual record of World War II, in the form of documentary sketches. For Lundy, “drawing is sort of synonymous with thinking,” which means we are left with an intimate archive of sketches that unfold one soldier’s experience fighting on the front lines. Lundy was studying architecture in New York when, enthralled with the idea of rebuilding a post-war Europe, he enrolled in the Army Special Training Program. By 1944, with D-Day looming, the Army needed reinforcements, which meant that young Lundy would be thrown into the infantry. This shocking turn of events didn’t stunt his creativity, though.

Lundy, who is now 92, recalls his inability to listen during lectures. “I was busy sketching,” he admits. During his time in the infantry, he continued to sketch in his pocke...

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