Ginette Hirsch was born in Paris, France. She lived in traditional Jewish home in Dijon with Russian-born parents, her grandmother and her brother. Her parents owned a clothing store.
On the day the Germans occupied Paris, her family fled to Toulouse anticipating trouble.
Ginette’s father was arrested in 1942 because he was Russian. He was then released and her family was told to report. Instead, her parents hid with Jewish friends, her brother in a monastery, and she in boarding schools. As the Germans searched houses, Ginette and her family fled to Voirons.
There, the family hid in caves and basements, all the while being helped by an elderly French woman who had one son in the underground.
Ginette was liberated by American troops in August, 1944. She emigrated to the United States in May, 1950.