The story of Marcel Marceau, a French mime artist who helped Jewish children during the Holocaust

Most individuals who have had some exposure to pop culture will be familiar with mimes. These silent performers manage to captivate audiences with their movements and expressions. When asked to think of mime, the image that comes to mind is a white-painted face with some black color around the eyes in a distinctive shape. This well-known image of a mime that comes to mind was a result of Marcel Marceau, a famed French mime artist. Marceau, born Marcel Mangel in 1923, is known for his iconic character "Bip the Clown," inspired by the protagonist Pip from "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens. The character is also loosely based on Charlie Chaplin's "Little Tramp." In a speech delivered in 2002 at the University of Michigan, he revealed that he created the character to serve as a "figure of hope," reports Michigan Quarterly Review.

Even though most people remember Marceau for "Bip," he also utilized his unique skillset to move Jewish children out of Nazi-occupied France when he worked with the French Resistance at the time. He was also able to use his talents to get out of tricky situations in the war. According to a 2015 article published in the Jewish Press by Saul Jay Singer, Marceau was able to get out of a life-threatening incident where he crossed paths with a group of 30 German soldiers. Recognizing that he had to act fast, he imitated the advance guard of a bigger French force, making the Germans retreat, saving his own life. Word of his talent spread and by 1944, he did his first performance in an army tent for 3000 American soldiers after Paris was liberated from German control. He was also fluent in English, French and German, which benefitted him as he got employed as the Liaison officer with the American General Patton.

Marceau's experiences in the war led him to make major strides in the world of miming. After the end of the war, he professionally studied mime at the Sarah Bernhardt Theater in Paris. Soon after, he created his well-known character, "Bip," in 1947. Upon receiving the Wallenberg Medal for his outstanding humanitarian efforts in the war, he spoke about his character, saying, "Destiny permitted me to live. That is why I have to bring hope to people who struggle in the world." He also spoke about how seeing people from concentration camps impacted his character because he was Jewish. Other than that, he said that Bip was not created as a Jewish character.  

According to The Paris Review, Mave Fellowes, a novelist, wrote about Marcel's immense contribution to the art of mime and how nobody has succeeded him in the field. She remarks that all that is left of his performances is footage taken long back where there is only one figure on the stage in a "circle of spotlight." 

Marcel's story is unique and from an entirely different era when life was much more harsh. His efforts to help people, however he could, shows how much of a humanitarian he was.