Paris, France – For the first time ever, France held a ceremony honoring the nearly 3,000 French men and women, now known as the “Righteous of France” who rescued Jews during the Holocaust.
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French President Jacques Chirac praised the honorees, of whom 240 are still alive and 74 attending the ceremony, stating that because of their courage, “we can be proud to be French”.
The heroism of Chambon-sur-Lignon was largely unknown, or ignored, in France for many years after the end of the Second World War. Two Protestant pastors in the Cévennes mountains in south-east France persuaded thousands of villagers to hide Jews, including many children.
The story of the village still remains little known abroad. Chambon-sur-Lignon is the only place where gentiles rescued Jews from Nazi persecution. It is estimated that 3,000 Jews were saved by the people of Chambon-sur-Lignon.
The village was honored along with 2,739 French individuals who risked their lives to save Jews from 1940 to 1944 on a plaque unveiled by President Jacques Chirac in an elaborate ceremony at the Panthéon in Paris.
More on this story via a child survivor and documentary filmaker Pierre Sauvage can be found at: http://www.chambon.org/sauvage_bio_en.htm
Documentary filmmaker Pierre Sauvage, a child survivor of the Holocaust and a child of Holocaust survivors is an Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker. is best known for his 1989 feature documentary Weapons of the Spirit, which tells the story of a mountain community in France that defied the Nazis and took in and saved five thousand Jews, including Sauvage and his parents. Sauvage himself was born in this unique Christian oasis, Le Chambon, at a time when much of his family was being tortured and murdered in the Nazi death camps. It was only at the age of 18 that he learned that he and his family were Jewish and survivors of the Holocaust. Upcoming in 2007 is And Crown Thy Good–Varian Fry in Marseille, a feature documentary about Americans involved in rescue in Marseille, France, after France fell to the Nazis.
Here’s an interesting short history of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon from Wikipedia. But first, regarding the subject post, Vos Iz Neias says, “Chambon-sur-Lignon is the only place where gentiles rescued Jews from Nazi persecution.” Vos Iz Neias are you planning on correcting this false statement?
Now for the short history: Le Chambon-sur-Lignon is a town and commune in the Haute-Loire département in the Auvergne région of southern France. Population (1999): 2,834. Primarily a Huguenot town, it became a haven for Jews fleeing from the Nazis during World War II. With the leadership of a local minister André Trocmé and his wife, Magda Trocmé, beginning in 1942, the citizens of Chambon-sur-Lignon risked their lives to hide Jews who were being rounded up by the Nazi SS for shipment to the death camps. They were hidden in private homes, on farms in the area, as well as in public institutions. Whenever the Nazi patrols came searching, they were hidden in the countryside. After the war, one of the villagers recalled: “As soon as the soldiers left, we would go into the forest and sing a song. When they heard that song, the Jews knew it was safe to come home.” In addition to providing shelter, the citizens of the town obtained forged identification and ration cards for Jews to use and then helped them cross the border to the safety of neutral Switzerland. Some of the residents were arrested by the Gestapo such as Rev. Trocmé’s cousin, Daniel Trocmé, who was sent to Maidanek concentration camp where he was killed. It is estimated that the people of Chambon-sur-Lignon saved between 3,000-5,000 Jews from certain death. In 1990, for their humanitarianism and bravery under extreme danger, the entire town was recognized as “Righteous Among the Nations” by the government of Israel. A small garden and plaque on the grounds of Israel’s Yad Vashem memorial to the Holocaust was dedicated to the people of Chambon-sur-Lignon.
Come on, don’t burst their bubble now. Let’s applaud them first for the long overdue recognition to those who saved Jews during WWII.
It would be nice to see a list of names of individuals that were “saved” and by whom. The story can then be verified.
I hope this is not just a public relations boost Chirac is trying to do for his prestige.
I salute these selfless individuals who sacrificed much on behalf of our brethern.
That having been said, what happened to all the children (and families) they kept in hiding? Were they released to their families and set free after the war or were they placed in an “orphanage” and perhaps raised without knowing their heritage???
How can these people have been “unknown” all these years as President Chirac is saying if there should have been thousands of gratefull families who should have kept us informed to those deserving of credit?
There is much information to be desired here.