Suzanne Deutsch de La Meurthe

Suzanne Henriette Charlotte Deutsch de la Meurthe (20 September 1892 – 29 November 1937) was a French Jewish philanthropist who inherited a fortune from her father, a highly successful industrialist. She is remembered for restoring the village of Moÿ-de-l'Aisne which was devastated during the First World War and for launching a more effective version of the Coupe Deutsch de la Meurthe, triggering the development of civil aviation in France in the 1930s. Early life Born on 20 September 1892 in Paris, Suzanne Henriette Charlotte Deutsch de la Meurthe was the daughter of Marguerite Ida Caroline (née Henriques Raba) (1854–1941) and successful petroleum businessman Henri Deutsch de la Meurthe (1846–1919). She was the third of four daughters. Her grandfather, Alexandre Deutsch de la Meurthe (1815–1889), had already developed a thriving vegetable oil business before extending his interests into petroleum imported from the United States. Raised in the in les Yvelines, she followed with interest her father's support of aviation developments in France. Career During the First World War (1914–1918), Suzanne Deutsch de la Meurthe was a volunteer nurse in Biarritz where she cared for wounded soldiers from the front. One of her patients was Germain Testart from Picardie. After the war, she visited him in the village of Moÿ-de-l’Aisne which had been devastated during the fighting. She decided to rebuild the village for its inhabitants, restoring the water supply, constructing housing and providing sports facilities and a gymnasium. After completing work on the village itself in 1928, she built a textile factory providing work for the villagers.