Lvov, Poland

Paris, France

Paul Grinwald

I was born in Paris, France on 9 March 1933.  I was the eldest child born to Polish parents who moved to France for work opportunities. Life started to improve until the Germans invaded France. Amongst other restrictions, those that affected me the most were that I could no longer use the public library and that I missed three years of schooling. We escaped the Vel d'Hiv round up in July 1942 and were smuggled across to unoccupied France just ahead of the Germans. We hid near Lyon until the end of the war, first on a farm and then in a country hut. After the war, we returned to Paris before migrating to Australia, arriving in November 1946. I was able to finish my education and received a university degree by the time I reached twenty years of age.