Born:
Paris, France
August 7, 1928
Michel Windland was born on August 7, 1928 in Paris, France. His parents, both immigrants from Poland, supported Michel and his younger brother through their work as furriers. Windland did not recall any antisemitism from his non-Jewish peers as a child, although he did remember seeing anti-Jewish graffiti on the streets.
Michel had just turned 11 when World War II began in September 1939. The next year his father was sent to the Beaune-la-Rolande internment camp where he was detained for two years before being deported to Auschwitz. In July 1942, Windland, along with his mother and brother, were arrested by French police in the Vel' d'Hiv roundup. More than 13,000 Jews were held in the Vélodrome d'Hiver sports arena without water, food or sanitary facilities. A few days later Michel and his family were sent on cattle cars to the transit camp at Pithiviers. From there the majority of prisoners were sent to Auschwitz, but Windland’s mother managed to secure her family’s release by bribing some of the guards.
Michel and his brother were hidden in a small village with Christian families working with the Œuvre de Secours aux Enfants (Children’s Aid Society). Windland’s mother then returned to Paris in order to earn money to support her children. In February 1944 she was arrested by French police and deported to Auschwitz.
That August, Michel and his brother were liberated by American troops. Windland returned to Paris where the mayor helped him complete his studies at the Ecole Supérieure de Commerce.
With the help of his extended family, Windland came to the United States in 1950. He served in the U.S. Army and spent 18 months in Korea during the Korean War. A few months after returning to the U.S. he met his wife, a French Jewish woman whose parents also came from Poland. In 1956 the couple moved to Houston where Windland worked in the international steel trade. MIchel and his wife raised two children and he later played an active role in the Alliance Française de Houston.
Parents:
David Windland, d. Auschwitz, 1942
Laja Tyger Windland, d. Auschwitz, 1944
Siblings:
Simon, survived