Born on 11 April 1907 in Kopstal, Marie Weynand married Ferdy Rausch in 1926. Two children were born of this marriage, a daughter, Yvonne, born in 1927, and a son, Francis, born in 1931. Together they went to live in Differdange where they ran a flourishing bakery in the rue de la montagne, number 32. Could they have imagined, just for a moment, that forty years later, at the crossroads of this street, the national memorial of the escape in honour of the smugglers and filiéristes would be inaugurated?
Her granddaughters Christiane Rausch and Mim Feitler particularly remember the thoughtfulness, hospitality and exemplary generosity of Marie Weynand. Their grandmother was a great Christian and a symbol of compassion for others. After the outbreak of the Second World War, the extremely courageous Rausch-Weynand couple decided to defy the German occupiers by helping a great many people in distress, despite the food controls. The profession of baker enabled them to help the most destitute and hungry. Thus, for months, a French priest obtained bread from the Rauschs to feed French refugees and rebels near the border in Thil. Also the Rausch family opens their house to the refractory people and the children Yvonne and Francis often do not know who will occupy their bed during the night. Marie Rausch helps to organise a network of people who send letters and parcels through Lasauvage. Some time later, she joins the LRL resistance movement.
By becoming "Karteiverweigerer" Marie and Ferdy Rausch-Weynand put themselves in the Gestapo's sights. An informer, disguised as a beggar, betrayed Marie Rausch-Weynand, who was arrested for giving bread to strangers without food cards. Her answer to the Gestapo official is pertinent: "I was brought up as a Catholic and help anyone who is in need. What I distribute in help, I personally save from my mouth. I would not have hesitated to give you a piece of bread too, if you had asked me for it in your time of need." Her outspokenness earned her a warning.
In 1944, Marie and Ferdy were arrested a second time. A long ordeal began for the couple, who were separated: Ferdy was sent to the Mauthausen concentration camp, while Marie was imprisoned, first in the Stad-Grund, then in Wittlich, together with Adeline Tidick and the teacher Trini Trompers. It is by pure chance that the prisoners learn of their files, in which the authorities foresee their transfer to Torgau with the remark "Endstation". Fortunately, thanks to the help of a member of the prison administration, their files were manipulated, a courageous act that certainly saved their lives.
On 6 April 1945, the joy was unimaginable when Marie Rausch-Weynand returned from deportation to be reunited with her children at the home of her relatives in Kopstal.
At the age of only 58, Marie Rausch-Weynand died on 23 February 1965. She was posthumously awarded the Croix de la Résistance.
Sources:
● Christiane Rausch et Mim Feitler, grand-daughters of Marie Rausch-Weynand.
● Néckel Kremer: Aus dunkler Zeit, Imprimerie Heintz, 1993 pp.240-244.
● Luxemburger Wort du 6 avril 1945.
● Centre de Documentation et de Recherche sur la Résistance (CDRR).