Early Years
Veil was born Simone Annie Liline Jacob, the daughter of a Jewish architect in Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France. In March 1944, Veil's family was deported, Simone, her mother and one sister, Milou, to Auschwitz-Birkenau then Bergen-Belsen where her mother Yvonne died shortly before the camp's 15 April 1945 liberation. Veil's father and brother also died; they are last known to have been sent on a transport to Lithuania. Veil's other sister, Denise, who had been arrested as a member of the Resistance survived her imprisonment in Ravensbrück. Milou dies in a car crash in the 50s. Veil returned to speak at Auschwitz-Birkenau in 2005 for the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the camps.
Having obtained her baccalauréat in 1943 before being deported, she began the study of law and political science at Sciences Po and at the University of Paris, where she met her future husband Antoine Veil. The couple married on 26 October 1946, and have three sons, Jean, Nicolas and Pierre Francois.
Veil became an attorney and worked for several years as a civil servant in the Ministry of Justice.
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Famous quotes related to early years:
“Even today . . . experts, usually male, tell women how to be mothers and warn them that they should not have children if they have any intention of leaving their side in their early years. . . . Children don’t need parents’ full-time attendance or attention at any stage of their development. Many people will help take care of their needs, depending on who their parents are and how they chose to fulfill their roles.”
—Stella Chess (20th century)