Jacques Gabai (1894–1942)
Jacques Gabai was born in Istanbul in 1894. He and his wife Esther, were carpet dealers in Paris. The couple lived in the 11th district. Jacques was arrested and sent to the Drancy camp, most likely in August 1941, along with another 3,477 Jews with foreign citizenship, who were caught in the mass roundup in the 11th and 12th districts. On 18 September 1942, Jacques was deported on Transport 34 to Auschwitz, where he was murdered.
Natanson inscribed the portrait with the words: "Drancy camp, 5-4-1942", eight months after his arrest and incarceration at Drancy. Esther gave this portrait to friends, who eventually donated it to Yad Vashem after her death in 1983.
Moïse Natanson (1883–1942)
Born in Odessa, Ukraine. He fled the pogroms in Ukraine for Spain and then immigrated to Paris, where he studied and practiced art and photography. In Paris, he had a relationship with feather worker and accessories salesperson Rosa (Rajzla) Witman. Their daughter, Aline, was born in 1913.
In September 1939, Moïse took Aline and Aline's daughter Nelly to Clion-sur-Mer but moved back to Paris in the Spring of 1940. On 21 August 1941, Moïse Natanson was apprehended at his studio. In light of the previous arrests of Parisian Jews, he had already prepared his suitcase, where he had packed his art materials. He was sent to the Drancy camp, and on 29 July 1942, he was deported on Transport 12 to Auschwitz, where he was murdered on 3 September 1942.
Aline was deported to Drancy on 30 July 1943, where she worked in the laundry. In June 1944, while on a transport to Bergen Belsen, she escaped. Aline's daughter Nelly was hidden by the OSE (l'Œuvre de secours aux enfants - Children's Relief Work). She lived in Saint-Ouen-en-Belin with Righteous Among the Nations Auguste and Marie-Rose Landeau under the surname Gillier. Rosa, Aline and Nelly were reunited after the war.
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