Jacques Kott

Richard said

(1922-2014)

   Jacques Kott, born Yytskok Kott, was born on December 25, 1922, in Kalisz, Poland. Although he came from a poor family, he continued his studies until he earned his high school diploma and was active in a left-wing Zionist movement, Hachomer Hatzaïr.

   The family left the country due to severe financial hardship and joined the father’s uncle in Roanne, France, in 1937–1938.

Jacques Kott learned French through reading; as he read, he began to question the communist movement and made contact with PCF activists. During the signing

Following the signing of the German-Soviet Pact, he expressed his dismay.

   From the very beginning of the war, he wanted to join the Resistance; he distributed leaflets in mailboxes, but by the end of 1941, he was forced to work the land to avoid being conscripted into the foreign labor battalions.

Kott traveled to Lyon in 1942 and met with members of the Resistance. In September 1942, he was one of the key figures at the first clandestine meeting dedicated to uniting young Jewish members of the Resistance.

   Their activities include, among other things, printing leaflets and distributing them outside movie theaters on the anniversary of the Battle of Valmy (the French army’s victory over Prussia in September 1792) or, for example, November 11 (the date the armistice was signed with defeated Germany in 1918).

   The group also handled the production of forged documents; Jacques Kott made his first forged documents himself under the name Jean-Jacques Cotte.

Jacques Kott also served as a liaison officer in the southern zone: he transported documents and weapons between Lyon, Marseille, and Grenoble… He also took part in acts of sabotage, particularly against tram tracks, and addressed workers at factories.

   In the spring of 1943, the Jewish Communist Resistance movements in the northern and southern zones merged into a single organization. This was a decisive step: the Union of Jews for Resistance and Mutual Aid (UJRE) was born.

   At the same time, the Jewish section of the M.O.I. founded the Union of Jewish Youth (UJJ), and Jacques Kott became its leader in Lyon. Activists from the Jewish Communist Youth (JCJ) joined the UJJ. The new organization aimed to bring together young Jews, regardless of their political views.

   In Lyon, Kott was responsible for recruiting, training, and organizing the UJJ’s combat groups in conjunction with the UJRE and the FTP-M.O.I. (Francs-Tireurs et Partisans de la M.O.I.). He was actively involved in the fight against racial persecution and the protection of the Jewish population in collaboration with the Mouvement National contre le Racisme (MNCR).

   At the same time, he devoted himself to writing and publishing the UJJ’s underground newspaper, *Jeune Combat*, of which he was the editor-in-chief.

Twenty-two issues were published between late 1942 and July 1944.

Jacques Kott died in Paris in 2014.