Early life in Grenoble

Vincent Malerba was born on 34 rue Saint-Laurent in Grenoble, a district nicknamed "la petite Italie" at the beginning of the 20th century due to the large number of its inhabitants of Italian origin.

Apprenticeship and early career

In 1943, he was an apprentice welder at the Bouchayer-Viallet Establishments, industrial sheet metal workshops. He then lived at 95 rue Saint-Laurent.

Participation in a banned demonstration

On November 11, 1943, when he was only 18 years old, and despite his parents' recommendation, he joined the demonstration celebrating the 25th anniversary of the French victory of 1918 against Germany, a march prohibited by the occupier that gathered 1,500 people, during which 600 demonstrators were arrested, including 369 deported individuals. Only 102 returned from their captivity.

Detention and deportation

This episode of World War II is part of the events known as the Grenoble St. Bartholomew's Day events. Along with other people arrested, he was detained for a few days at the Bonne barracks, then transferred to the Compiègne camp where he remained for two months, before being sent to Germany to the Dora concentration camp, which was part of Buchenwald, where he was assigned the number 40250.

Conditions in the camps

He was assigned to digging a tunnel, then to welding and assembling parts of V1 and V2 missiles. Discipline, working conditions and malnutrition decimated the deportees: upon his return from the camps in 1945, his weight had dropped, his health had deteriorated significantly. He regained strength only after two months of convalescence in the countryside.

Recognition and activism

Recognized as part of the "deported and interned of the Resistance (DIR), French Forces of the Interior (FFI)" by the Ministry of Defense, he is inscribed on the site Mémoire des hommes under this title. A member of the FNDIRP and the association Buchenwald Dora and Kommandos, faithful to the famous oath that his liberated comrades from the Buchenwald camp solemnly pronounced on April 19, 1945 on behalf of all the detainees, he provides his testimony on the occasion of various commemorations.

Later life and legacy

In 2023, he lived in Montbonnot-Saint-Martin, a commune near Grenoble. He died on October 30, 2025. Officer of the Legion of Honour. Cross of the Volunteer Combatant of the Resistance.