, born Simon Cukier
Simon Cukier was born in Radom, Poland, on May 11, 1910. In 1929, he joined his brothers in France. Enrolled at the Dental Institute of Nancy, he worked as a typesetter to earn a living. He joined the PCF in 1930. Deeply involved in student union activism, he was expelled from Nancy by the police in 1932. Simon Cukier continued his activist work in Paris and was hired by the Jewish section of the M.O.I. in 1934 to organize the distribution of the Yiddish-language communist daily, *Naïe Presse* (*The New Press*).
In 1936, he served as Secretary General of the mutual aid organization Arbeter Orden (the Workers’ Order), which provided assistance to Jewish immigrant workers who lacked social security. He then directed the L’Aide Médicale clinic from 1932 to 1938, after which he became Secretary General of the Jewish section of the Secours Rouge (later known as Secours Populaire).
Simon Cukier enlisted as a volunteer in August 1939, was assigned to the Foreign Legion, and was demobilized at the end of that same year. He resumed his role as director of the clinic but soon left the position, as the Jewish community refused to allow its organizations to join the General Union of French Jews (UGIF), which was subservient to the Vichy regime and the occupying forces.
In June 1940, *La Naïe Presse* reappeared clandestinely under the title *Unzer Wort*. Cukier, known as Alfred Grant, contributed to the paper and was active in “Solidarité,” an illegal mutual-aid and Resistance organization created by the Jewish section of the M.O.I. In 1943, “Solidarité” became the Union of Jews for the Resistance and Mutual Aid (UJRE). Arrested after being denounced on March 18, 1943, he was imprisoned at the Santé Prison but was freed by the FTP on August 17, 1944, during the Paris uprising.
Alfred Grant immediately resumed his position among the leaders of the UJRE, which had now been legalized. He was tasked with rebuilding the Union of Jewish Societies of France (USJF), which had been founded in 1938 and dismantled during the Occupation.
From December 1944 to March 1965, Alfred Grant served as Federal Secretary of the USJF and managed the reestablished L’Aide médicale clinic.
Since its founding in 1962, AJAR—a very active organization of former progressive Jewish Resistance fighters—has been chaired by Alfred Grant.
Simon Cukier-Grant died in Paris in June 1987.
Reference:
Cukier, Simon; Decèze, Dominique; Diamant, David; Grojnowski, Michel. 1987, Revolutionary Jews, Messidor/Editions sociales, 1987.
