In Memoriam: Joan Molet a man who didn’t want us to forget #WWII #familyhistory

Hi all:

Those of you who have been following my blog for a while might remember that I’ve sometimes shared posts about my mother’s family, in particular about two of her uncles, Josep and Conrado, (although she never got to meet them) who fled Spain during the Civil War, went to France, helped the efforts of the French Resistance and one of them died in Paris and the other one in Mauthausen.

I was aware of some of that but learned much more thanks to a cousin, Joan Molet, who started digging into the family history and became involved with the Amical Mauthausen, helping organise visits to the camp, assisting those looking for information about relatives, and contributing to the effort to keep the memory of those events alive  (going to schools, doing presentations…). Through his effort and insistence, we finally found out that Conrado had died in Paris, as a result of torture, in the Prison de la Santé and now there’s a plaque there in his memory. (I saw it recently when I visited a friend in Paris).

Unfortunately, my cousin fell ill over a year ago and despite a variety of treatments and time spent in hospital, I got news that he passed away last week. He leaves a wife and two children, and he’ll be sorely missed by friends, work colleagues at Oxfam and all who knew him. I came to know him more through to his work in recovering family history (as through my years in the UK I’d lost touch) and I’ll sure miss his updates, his dedication and his energy.

I’ve shared many posts based on the information he gave me, but here is one I dedicated to him:

Family Stories. My cousin, Joan Molet, and his efforts to not allow the memories to disappear.

Rest in peace. I know he’s made a difference to many people’s lives. Sending all my love to his mother, wife and children.

Thanks to all of you for reading.