Abdelkader Mesli | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Identity photograph of Mesli, taken from his Resistance deportee card | |
| Born | 1902 Khemis, French Algeria |
| Died | 21 June 1961 Paris, France |
| Occupation(s) | Islamic imam, resistance member |
| Known for | Resistance activities during World War II, helping rescue Jews |
Abdelkader Mesli (Arabic: عَبْد ٱلْقَادِر مَسْلِي, ʿabd ʾal-Qādir Maslī; 1902 – 21 June 1961) was an Algerian Sunni imam and resistance member during the Second World War. Through his actions at the Grand Mosque of Paris, at the Fort du Hâ, and within the Army Resistance Organization (ORA), he contributed to the rescue of several hundred Jews from the Holocaust. He also extended assistance to escaped African soldiers. Having survived Dachau, he returned to France after the war but passed away in relative obscurity.
His actions were rediscovered long after his death, in the early 21st century. Historians' estimates of the number of Jews he saved vary, but they range between 500 and 1600.