Anne-Marie Arnaud, daughter of Jean and Anne Arnaud, was born in 1893 in Coussac, France. In March 1923, she married the metal worker Mathias (Jacques) Federspiel from Kayl. With her husband and their three children, Raymond the eldest half-brother of the twins Ketty and Léonie, the seamstress lived in Rue Notre-Dame in Kayl. The family of J.-P. Federspiel, Mathias' brother, also lived in the village.
During the Second World War, a young refractory was hidden alternately in the houses of the two Federspiel families. The Gestapo got wind of the situation and had several members of the Federspiel families arrested, including Anne-Marie Arnaud.
Anne-Marie Arnaud was taken into custody by the Sicherheitspolizei Luxemburg for "aiding deserters" and was held in Esch/Alzette from 11 May to 6 June 1944. Léonie Federspiel remembers visiting her mother in prison.
On 6 June 1944, Anne-Marie was transferred to the women's prison in Luxembourg-Grund and then to Flussbach. The family receives a letter from the Flussbach/Wittlich concentration camp on 11 June 1944, the last news. The political prisoner was transferred to Ravensbrück in October 1944. According to reports, she died of typhus there on 29 December 1944.
Sources:
- Kathrin Mess: Hier kommst du nie wieder mehr raus. Luxemburger Frauen im Zweiten Weltkrieg zwischen Widerstand, Verfolgung und Inhaftierung, Institut für Geschichte und Soziales, 2021.
- http://www.ons-jongen-a-meedercher.lu/archives/personnes/arnaud-epouse-federspiel-anne-marie/documents