Henri Mosson Died at 102: A French Resistance Fighter Who Survived Struthof

Henri Mosson died in Dijon on December 30, 2025. He was 101 (almost 102). He was the oldest known survivor of Natzweiler-Struthof, the only Nazi concentration camp established on French soil.

He had a truly astonishing life, marked first by war and deportation, then by decades spent explaining that experience to others.

Early years and the Resistance

Henri Mosson was born on January 5, 1924, in Boux-sous-Salmaise, a small village in Côte-d’Or. He was still a teenager when France was occupied.

Like many young people at the time, he joined local Resistance networks. His role involved transporting and hiding weapons for groups operating in Burgundy.

In June 1943, at just 19 years old, he was arrested by the German authorities. He was interrogated and tortured. A death sentence followed, but it was not carried out.

Instead, he was deported under the Nazi “Nacht und Nebel” policy, which aimed to make political prisoners disappear without trace.

Deportation and the camps

Mosson was sent to Natzweiler-Struthof, located in the Vosges mountains of Alsace. Prisoners classified under the “NN” category were denied contact with their families and kept in total secrecy. Conditions were brutal, and survival was uncertain.

Mosson spoke German, which allowed him to understand orders and sometimes anticipate danger. He was assigned to work disinfecting prisoners’ clothing, a task that slightly improved his chances of staying alive.

Later, he was transferred to Dachau in Germany as the camps were evacuated ahead of the advancing Allied armies.

He was liberated on April 30, 1945. Like many deportees, he returned in a severely weakened physical state, weighing far less than before the war.

Life after the war

After the war, Mosson focused first on practical matters. He helped former deportees and their families navigate administrative procedures related to recognition, compensation, and official status.

This work placed him in close contact with others who had survived the camps, as well as with families of those who had not.

He later built an unexpected second career in motorsport. He worked as a racing driver for a time, then moved into technical and safety roles within international auto racing.

He became involved with the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile, contributing to vehicle approval and race safety. Through this work, he encountered leading figures of modern racing, including Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna.

A witness to history

From the 1980s onward, Henri Mosson devoted much of his time to testimony. He spoke regularly in schools, in France and in Germany, explaining how ordinary young people became involved in the Resistance and what deportation meant in concrete terms.

By his own account, he visited around 200 schools.

He also served as a guide at the Natzweiler-Struthof memorial site. His role was not ceremonial. He described daily life in the camp, the structure of repression, and the small details that determined who lived and who did not.

His approach was direct and factual, as he believed memory work had to remain precise to be useful.

Mosson was involved in several remembrance organizations and supported the Concours national de la Résistance et de la Déportation, a French national program that encourages students to study World War II history through original research.

Recognition

Henri Mosson received several national honors over the years, including the Legion of Honour. These distinctions reflected both his wartime actions and his long commitment to education and remembrance.

He remained active late in life, continuing to speak publicly when his health allowed. Shortly after his death, his family confirmed that he had passed away peacefully in Dijon, just days before what would have been his 102nd birthday.

His son has said he intends to continue his father’s work of transmission. With Mosson’s death, another direct witness of the camps is gone. However, he leaves behind recorded testimony, written accounts, and the memory carried by those who heard him speak.