Lili Leignel, born Lili Keller-Rosenberg on September 15, 1932, in Croix, France, came from a Hungarian Jewish family who fled anti-Semitic persecution in Hungary. During World War II, Lili and her brothers, Robert and André, were hidden by families in Tourcoing until 1943. They returned to their parents, Charlotte and Joseph, believing the danger had passed. On October 27, 1943, the family was arrested at their home. Lili was 11, Robert 9, and André 3. They were taken from Loos prison to Saint-Gilles in Brussels, then to the Malines assembly camp. Their father was sent to Buchenwald, while Lili, her mother, and brothers were sent to Ravensbrück and later Bergen-Belsen. Liberated by the British on April 15, 1945, the children were repatriated to Paris and cared for by their aunt. They were reunited with their mother, weakened by typhus, and learned their father was executed in April 1945 at Buchenwald.
