French Individuals Who Rescued or Aided Jews - Not Recognized by Yad Vashem
Many French government officials, including federal and local police, soldiers, bureaucrats and others, helped Jews escape arrest and deportation.
From 1942 through September 1943, thousands of Jews found refuge in the Italian occupied zones of southern France around Nice. These Jews were helped by Italian diplomats, soldiers and military police. Many of these Jews later escaped to Switzerland and to Italy.
Even though France was occupied by German forces in June 1940, and was continuously occupied for more than four and a half years, it had one of the highest per capita survival rates for Jews in all of Europe. 86% of native French Jews survived and 72% of foreign born Jews survived.
Himmler and Eichmann consider the deportation of Jews from France to be a dismal failure. Himmler states that the total removal of Jews from France was “extremely difficult” because of the “very strained relations with the French military administration.”
Local Politicians and Citizens Who Helped in France
Vincent Azéma, Mayor of Banyuls-sur-Mer
Mayor Azéma of the town of Banyuls-sur-mer helped the Emergency Rescue Committee and particularly Hans and Lisa Fittko hide and house refugees in his town. Banyuls became the center of the ERC’s escape activities. The mayor set up a building to help the refugees. The mayor issued a sort of identity document and food ration cards for the refugees and offered advice on avoiding local border patrols. In December 1942, Mayor Azéma was replaced by an anti-refugee appointee who was hostile to the ERC’s activities.
“The mayor of the French border town Banyuls-sur-Mer, Monsieur Azéma, a Socialist who eluded the Vichy purge of lower-echelon government officials until 30 November 1940, issued identity and food ration cards and opened a house for those in transit. He instructed refugees about how to act like locals to escape unwanted attention. He ordered them to abandon their rucksacks and central European clothing and to don the jumpsuits and espadrilles popular with the vineyard workers. He told them that all crossings should take place early in the morning, when refugees might face into the crowd of agricultural workers headed up the mountains. Azéma was so dedicated to this task that he personally carried the wife of Hans Meyerhoff, the Nobel Prize winner, from France to Spain piggyback because the path was too difficult for her” (Ryan, p. 143).
Lisa Fittko, in her book, discusses her plans to cross the border through the Pyrenees. In it, she discusses the mayor of Banyuls, Monsieur Azéma.
“We’d heard about people who in the meantime had gotten across to Spain; in Banyuls, the last town before the border, there was a mayor, Monsieur Azéma. He was a Socialist, and was able and willing to help the emigrés.
“So first of all I had to make cautious contact with him and, if possible, with other local residents favorably inclined toward the emigrés. Everything clicked surprisingly fast, although conditions had recently become more difficult; the usual route via the border town Cerbère was now closely watched and must be avoided. But Monsieur Azéma revealed a safe and secret smuggler’s route to me; he called it la route Lister. General Lister of the Republican army had used it for his troops during the Spanish Civil War.
“Maire Azéma insisted that the emigrés themselves should organize the border crossing, thus making sure that the new route would also be known to and used by those who came after. ‘Perhaps one day I will no longer be here,’ he said. Also it was quite imprudent for so many refugees to be reporting to him at the mairie. Not until later did I understand just why he’d figured on disappearing some day: he was known to the authorities for his activities during the Civil War. It would be best (he said) if someone could remain here in Banyuls for a time, to help the refugees over the Pyrenees.
“’I can provide you with housing and food-ration cards temporarily.’ He said, and took a few cans of milk and vegetables from a crate under his desk. ‘Pour le bébé,’ he added.” [Fittko, 1991, p. 101]
Fittko continues:
“First I’d gone down to the harbor and gotten into conversation with several dock workers. One of them took me to the union shop steward. Without asking many questions, he seemed to understand what it was all about. He had advised me to look up the mayor in Banyuls-sur-Mer, Monsieur Azéma. He was the man, as I had already been told in Marseille, who would help me to find a safe route for my family and friends who wanted to cross the border.
“’He’s a wonderful man, this Mayor Azéma,’ I continued telling Benjamin. ‘He spent hours with me working out every detail.’” [Fittko, 1991, p. 104]
“The only really safe route that still remained, declared the mayor, was la route Lister. That meant that we had to cross the Pyrenees farther west, where the mountain crests were higher and thus the climb more strenuous.” [Fittko, 1991, p. 104]
“Here in Banyuls-sur-Mer we’re lodged in an unbelievable house directly on the Mediterranean. Mayor Azéma, Monsieur le Maire, had without hesitation requisitioned the house in the name of the municipality and made it the Centre d’Hébergement de Banyuls pour les Réfugiés. The réfugiés—that’s us. We can lodge our future ‘visitors’ there quite comfortably.” [Fittko, 1991, p. 122]
“14 October
“Today we became ‘legalized,’ under our real names. The bogus French cartes d’identité from the Centre in Marseille, which named us residents of the zone interdite in the northeast of France, were to be used only in case of emergency vis-à-vis the Germans. As such, it was forbidden for us to return there. Monsieur Azéma gave us a hand-written statement on the mayor’s letterhead certifying that we are residents of Banyuls; that is now our identification. Then he had the secretary enter us in the Banyuls Residents’ Register, and we were thereupon issued food-ration cards. Azéma can manage to get extra food stamps for the refugees should they have to wait here for a few days.” [Fittko, 1991, p. 121]
“Azéma will help us get the refugees’ baggage over the border legally.” [Fittko, 1991, p. 126]
“…Hans is off with the new assistant he’s meanwhile annexed, young Meyerhof, the eighteen-year-old son of the physiologist. His parents crossed the border some time ago but he’s lacking some papers, so he sits around here looking lonesome and forlorn. Monsieur Azéma related the story with great relish, how he, Monsieur le Maire de Banyuls, carried the youngster’s mother, the wife of the Nobel Prize-winner Meyerhof, from France to Spain piggyback because the path along the cemetery wall was too difficult for her.” [Fittko, 1991, p. 128]
Mayor Azéma is removed from office:
“Monsieur Azéma, our elected mayor, has been quietly removed from office and replaced by a man from the Pétain government. The new mayor is some collaborationist official who isn’t even from this region. They’re being replaced everywhere, Socialist mayors especially, not to mention Communist ones.
“Azéma hasn’t been seen since. He’s no longer on the beach nor at the harbor as before, where he used to greet and converse with people now and then like an ordinary citizen.
“Now I remember how he’d said at the beginning: ‘Perhaps one day I’ll no longer be here.’” [Fittko, 1991, p. 133]
[Fry, Varian. Surrender on Demand. (New York: Random House, 1945), p. 198. Marino, Andy. A Quiet American: The Secret War of Varian Fry. (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1999), pp. 156, 193-194. Isenberg, Sheila. A Hero of Our Own: The Story of Varian Fry. (New York: Random House). Klein, Anne. “Conscience, conflict and politics: The rescue of political refugees from southern France to the United States, 1940-1942.” Leo Baeck Institute Year Book, 43 (1998), 300-302. Ryan, Donna F. The Holocaust and the Jews of Marseille: The Enforcement of Anti-Semitic Policies in Vichy France. (Urbana, IL: The University of Illinois Press, 1996), pp. 143, 220. Fittko, Lisa, translated by David Koblick. Escape through the Pyrénées. (Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press, 1991), p. 101, 104, 121-122, 126, 128, 133.]
Monsieur Boyer
Monsieur Boyer helped 20 refugees per week to board a British submarine that took them to safety. [Ryan, 1996, p. 173]
Mayor Cruzet, Mayor of Cerbère
Mayor Cruzet helped refugees across the border secretly. He also helped transport their possessions.
“The mayor of Cerbère, another French border town, Monsieur Cruzet, also a Socialist, helped refugees cross the border clandestinely and transport their belongings separately, a convenient arrangement he could offer since his business partner was the mayor of Port-Bou, the closest town on the Spanish side” (Ryan, p. 143).
Lisa Fittko describes Monsieur Cruzet and his help:
“The mayor of Cerbère (the French border town), Monsieur Cruzet, is a Socialist and ready to help; besides, he owns a transport firm. His business partner is the mayor of Port-Bou, the Spanish border town.” [Fittko, 1991, p. 127-128]
“Hans has ridden to Cerbère to work things out with Cruzet. He really shouldn’t do it without valid papers, for there’s a train inspection between Banyuls and Cerbère, and sometimes the Armistice Commission comes sniffing around. But, plainly, one of us must go, so Hans is off with the new assistant he’s meanwhile annexed, young Meyerhof, the eighteen-year-old son of the physiologist. His parents crossed the border some time ago but he’s lacking some papers, so he sits around here looking lonesome and forlorn. Monsieur Azéma related the story with great relish, how he, Monsieur le Maire de Banyuls, carried the youngster’s mother, the wife of the Nobel Prize-winner Meyerhof, from France to Spain piggyback because the path along the cemetery wall was too difficult for her.” [Fittko, 1991, p. 128]
[Ryan, Donna F. The Holocaust and the Jews of Marseille: The Enforcement of Anti-Semitic Policies in Vichy France. (Urbana, IL: The University of Illinois Press, 1996), p. 148. Fittko, Lisa. Escape through the Pyrénées. (Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press, 1991), pp. 122-123, 127-128. Marino, Andy. A Quiet American: The Secret War of Varian Fry. (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1999), pp. 136, 194.]
Madame Esmiol of the Aliens Bureau
Madame Esmiol helped refugees leave France. She helped provide paperwork. [Ryan, 1996, p. 173]
Marie-Ange Rodriguez
Marie-Ange Rodriguez was the Secretary General at the town hall in Cassis. She provided refugees with false documentation. She also helped refugees get documentation to be able to leave the concentration camps and France. She was never captured or punished for her activities. [Ryan, 1996, p. 173]
Jean Séguy, French Prefectural Official of Bouches-du-Rhône who Helped Jews
Séguy was the sub-prefect of Arles. He warned refugees of upcoming arrests or deportations. The Nazis eventually arrested and deported Séguy for his actions. [Ryan, 1996, p. 173]
Captain Dubois, French Police Inspector
Captain Dubois was a French police inspector in Marseilles, France. Captain Dubois was an early contact with Hiram “Harry” Bingham, the Vice Consul at the US consulate in Marseilles. Dubois was introduced to Fry by US Vice Consul Bingham.
“Just before the Bouline left, Harry Bingham invited me to dinner at his villa, to meet Captain Dubois. Captain Dubois was a member of the Marseille staff of the Sûreté Nationale. Though a Vichy policeman, he was friendly to England and America, and Harry thought it would be useful for me to know him.
“It was. Dubois was the first French official I had met who was familiar with my case and willing to talk about it. When I asked him what the police had against me, he said, with a sly smile I couldn’t quite fathom, ‘Smuggling people out of the country.’
“’Anything else?’ I asked.
“’Yes, trading in foreign exchange.’” [Fry, 1945, pp. 89-90]
Dubois provided reports on police raids to Bingham and later to Varian Fry and the Emergency Rescue Committee (ERC).
“It was during the same week, I think, that Beamish and I ran across Captain Dubois, our police friend. He was having a drink with some pals in the rear of a café on the Canebière when we came in to get a late supper. After a few minutes he got up and came over to our table…
“’What do you know about the Consul of Siam?’ he asked.
“’Nothing much,’ I answered. ‘Why?’
“’Ever had any dealings with him?’
“’No,’ I said honestly, ‘none at all. I’ve met him, and heard him talk about his “possibilities”; but I haven’t tried them. Why do you ask?’
“’Well, since it’s you who tell me, I believe you,’ he said. ‘We’re going to raid him tomorrow, and I wouldn’t want you to have an histoire.’” [Fry, 1945, p. 132]
He was entirely sympathetic to the rescue activities of the various agencies operating in Marseilles. Dubois’ information helped Fry and his ERC to stay out of trouble.
“For two weeks after the Sinaïa affair I was followed by a group of eight dicks, working in shifts. I know, because Captain Dubois told me. The filature was being done by the Commissariat Spécial at the Prefecture, he said, on direct orders of the Sûreté Nationale at Vichy.
“Thanks to the tipoff, I saw to it that the flics’ [detectives’] daily reports were wholly innocuous and, after a couple of weeks, the Sûreté apparently got tired of learning where I had lunch and dinner every day and called the whole thing off. But as long as it lasted it was uncomfortable enough, and I had to be very careful what I did and whom I saw.
“As soon as I learned I was being followed, I warned everybody to be extremely careful.” [Fry, 1945, p. 150]
Eventually, Dubois was found out and was transferred to an undesirable post in Rabat, Morocco. Dubois had also been transferred for his pro-British sentiments. On one occasion, Dubois had warned the ERC of a planned police raid on the consulate of Siam, which had been supplying the ERC with visas. After Dubois’ transfer, Fry had to begin bailing people out of prison and paying bribes to French police.
[Fry, Varian. Surrender on Demand. (New York: Random House, 1945), pp. 89-91, 132, 148-150, 208. Gold, Mary Jayne. Crossroads Marseilles, 1940. (New York: Doubleday, 1980), pp. 333. Ryan, Donna F. The Holocaust and the Jews of Marseille: The Enforcement of Anti-Semitic Policies in Vichy France. (Urbana, IL: The University of Illinois Press, 1996), pp. 147, 173, 209. Marino, Andy. A Quiet American: The Secret War of Varian Fry. (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1999), pp. 209-210, 238-239, 277.]
French Citizens and Officials Who Helped Jews and Other Refugees
Augustin Arth, Municipal Clerk, Briue, Department of Corrèze; provided Jewish refugees forged papers and ration cards
Mayor Monsieur Azéma, Mayor of Banyuls-sur-Mer; helped refugees cross border into Spain
Jeanne Barnier, Clerk Council, Dieulefit, Department of Drôme; she provided Jewish refugees with forged papers including birth certificates and baptismal certificates
Renée Bédarida, Student at Notre Dame de Sion in Lyon; hid and provided food to Jews
Daniel Bénédite, Assistant to Varian Fry of the Emergency Rescue Committee (ERC); took over ERC after Fry forced to leave France
Lucien Berdase, senior officer French Army, commanded military department of the Municipality of Limoges (Haute-Vienne), unoccupied zone; to save Jews from deportation, he altered civic records including census records; issued life-saving documents; arranged to hide Jews
Maurice Berger†, police station commander, Riom (Department Puy de Dome); rescued Jews from deportation, warned Jews of arrests, caught and deported to camps in Poland, Czechoslovakia; died before liberation
Pierre Blanchet, Bailiff Town of Felletin; warned Jews of impending raid, took Jews into his home
Jean Boëte, Employee Department Office in Chambery; supplied forged papers and documents to local Jewish rescue activists of the OSE
Aime Bondi, guard at Les Milles concentration camp; helped Jews escape camp and deportations; arrested and jailed for these activities
Charles Bouy, policeman, Nancy, Meurthe. In charge of documenting aliens. He and his fellow policemen warned Jews of planned arrests. Hid Jews, provided documents. Credited with saving approximately 350 Jews.
Auguste Boyer, guard at Les Milles concentration camp; helped Jews escape camp and deportations; arrested and jailed for these activities
Clovis Brunet, Mayor of Saint Sorlin. In 1943, helped hide Jews on his wife’s parents’ farm in Bancel.
André Chenult, French Prefect of the Police, Nice; refused to turn over the census lists of Jews to the SS; thwarted plan of mass arrests
Lucie Chevally-Sabatier, chairwoman, Service Social d’Aide aux Emigrantes (SSAE). Headed SSAE, Paris, France. Chevally established Entraide Temporaire (ET; Temporary Mutual Assistance), working with Jewish rescuer groups. Helped save at least 500 Jewish children.
Charles Chevassus, Village Secretary in Mesnil (Seine-Maritime). Helped Jews.
Leon Coghe, policeman, town of Roubaix (Nord). Helped save Jews by hiding them, providing hiding places and smuggling them across borders. Worked with Pastor Marcel Pasche.
Paul Corazzi, senior official Préfecture, Department of Pyrénées-Oriental, representative of police in Rivesaltes French camp. Helped save Jewish children and youths from deportations. Altered official documents to rescue young Jews.
Mayor Monsieur Cruzet, Mayor of Cerbère; helped refugees secretly cross border into Spain
Manuel Darrac, town clerk, Moissac, Tarn-et-Garonne. Supplied forged papers to Jewish children and staff living in a boarding school run by the French Jewish Scouts (EIF) in Moissac. Warned of impending deportations.
Captain Dubois of Marseilles Police; helped warn rescue organizations in Marseilles of pending actions against Jews or organizations
Georges Dumas†, Limoges (Department Haute-Vienne), officer in French underground. Saved Jews by helping them avoid arrests and deportations. Arrested and murdered by Gestapo, March 1944.
Abel Enjalbert, police officer, Secretary of the Police Station Aurillac, Department of Cantal. Warned Jews of impending arrests and deportations in the area, resulting in saving 150 Jews.
Camille Ernst, Secretary of the Prefecture of Montpellier, helped Jewish children circumvent French law and leave the French detention camps.
Madam Esimol, Aliens Bureau at the Prefecture; helped Jews leave/escape from France, often by falsifying official documents.
Antoinette Eyraud, wife of Léon Eyraud. Rescued Jews as part of a large organized network in Le Chambon-sur-Lignon in Southern France.
André Jean Faure, Prefect in Charge of Inspection of French Concentration Camps; helped refugees, attended Nimes Committee meeting.
Gilles Fedi, police officer, Marseilles, and wife Marie Fedi. Hid Jewish family during occupation.
Joseph Fisera, volunteer for Czechoslovakian diplomatic mission in Marseilles. Helped save Czech and Jewish refugees. Got refugees released from French camps and placed in shelters.
Marcel Galliot, police officer, Nancy, Department of Meurthe-et-Moselle. Saved several Jewish families. Arrested and deported to Buchenwald concentration camp. Survived.
Pierre Gesse, senior officer, Interior Ministry, Paris, and Maria Gesse, wife. Saved Jews.
Valentin Girard, town clerk, Fontaine (near Grenoble), and wife Therese Girard. Saved the Zylberman family from arrest and deportation.
Antoine-Paul Grimaldi, Inspector for the Personnel Department, Ministry of Labor in Marseilles. Altered index records to protect people who were to be deported to Germany. Forged documents and signatures. Saved more than a thousand people from deportation.
General Marius Guedin, colonel, French Army, and Aimée Guedin. Colonel Guedin was a leader in the French resistance. Protected Jews in his home.
Pastor Charles Guillon, Mayor of Le-Chambon-sur-Lignon; helped save hundreds of Jews, member of CIMADE rescue network.
Emile Guth, a nurse in a Children’s Aid Society (Oeuvres Secours aux Enfants; OSE) hospital; helped Jews who had escaped from Les Milles camp in 1942; provided false papers and documents and plans to hide Jews in Marseilles; worked in underground organization called COMBAT.
Yvonne Hagnauer, principal, high school in Sevres, near Paris. Hid Jews in school boarding house, providing food and life-saving identity papers. Credited with saving dozens of Jewish children.
Edouard Harriot, Mayor of Lyon, France. Removed from office for refusing to arrest Jews in 1942.
Louis Hasse, Mayor of Thones, Department Haute-Savoie (Alps). Helped rescue Jews by finding shelter among his townspeople. Provided forged papers, including ration cards.
Dr. Adélaïde Hautval, psychiatrist. French Christian helped save Jews in the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp.
Emile Herp, principal, Collège Saint-Foy la Grand. Hid and sheltered Jews in the college boarding facilities.
Helga Holbek, Quaker; rescued Jewish children from Gurs detention camp, placed them in hiding, helped Jews escape to Switzerland.
Jean-Louis Kissy, guard at Les Milles concentration camp; helped Jews escape camp and deportations; arrested and jailed for these activities.
Raoul Laporterie, Monte-de-Marsan. Helped Jews escape to the unoccupied zone and cross between zones. Hid Jews in his home.
Adrienne Laquièze, Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne (Corrèze). Used her family-owned pension to hide young Jews who were taken out of Gurs and Rivesaltes detention camps. Worked with French Jewish Scouts (EIF) rescue organization. Provided false documents and escorted Jewish children across the Swiss border.
Laurent Leboutet, chief, security services in Blois, capital of the Department of Loir-et-Cher. Helped Jews cross the demarcation line between the two zones in France.
Gilbert Lesage, Quaker, Lyon; rescued Jewish children, Venissieux.
Pierre Majesté, Mayor, city of Pau, Department of Pyrénées Maritimes. Hid Jews in a home he owned in Pau. Warned them of impending arrests.
Victor Marchand, police officer, Paris. Warned the Bulwa family of upcoming arrests and deportations. Hid Jews in his apartment.
Pierre Marie, Policeman, Nancy. Assistant to Edouard Vigneron. Warned 400 Jews in area of impending deportation. All but 19 avoided arrest. Provided forged papers.
Hélène Marzellier, Poitiers, capital, Department Vienne. Senior clerk at the prefecture. Warned Jews of future arrests or deportations. Worked with Jeanne Caillaud and Father Fleury.
Robert Maulave, director of Les Milles; fired for refusing to deport Jews from Les Milles in September 1942; went to prison for refusing to hand over Jews.
Lucien Mercier, guard at Les Milles concentration camp; helped Jews escape camp and deportations; arrested and jailed for these activities.
Baron Olivier de Pierrebourg Francois de Cellery d’Allens. Founded L’Amitié Chrétienne (Christian Friendship), Lyon, 1941. Prominent relief and rescue organization which rescued numerous Jews in the Southern Zone.
Ermine Orsi†, helped Jews escape from Marseilles to village safe houses of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon; arrested and murdered by the Gestapo.
Louis Pugeat, clerk, city of Aix-les-Bains, Department of Savoie. Obtained and distributed to Jews forged documents that he obtained from the city offices.
Paul Ramadier, Mayor of Decazeville, and Marguerite Ramadier. Hid Jewish family in his home and later formed separate shelters for them. Became Prime Minister of France.
Dr. Raybaud, physician, Les Milles camp; helped Jews get medical exemptions to prevent them from being deported; falsified medical records.
Alphonse Rémezy, Mayor of LaSalle (Gard). Saved three Jewish refugees.
Lucien Reuter, city clerk, Ration Card Department, Thirteenth Arrondissement, Paris. helped refugees by liberally issuing ration cards. Helped rescue Sznitkies family.
Germaine Ribière
Jean Rist, Fraisse (Loire). Rescued many Jewish families by hiding them, providing papers and helping escape to Switzerland. Arrested and imprisoned for these activities.
Dr. Jules Robert, physician, Mayor of Charlieu, Department of the Loire, and Andrée Robert. Saved Jewish Liow family. A member of the resistance, Dr. Robert was arrested and deported to a German concentration camp. Survived the war.
General Pierre Robert de Saint-Vincent, French military governor of Lyons. Major supporter of Amitié Chrétienne (Christian Friendship) in Lyons area. Participated in the French underground organization, Armée Secrète (Secret Army). Refused to have his troops participate in deportations of Jews. He was removed from his command and had to go into hiding.
Marie-Ange Rodrigues, Secretary General, town hall, Cassis; supplied false papers and documents to foreign Jews to escape France.
Etienne Roth, police commander, Mont-St.-Martin (Meurthe-et-Moselle), near French, Belgian and Luxembourg borders. Helped three Jews who had escaped a train transport to Auschwitz escape from jail. Personally escorted them to Belgian border.
Jeane Rousselle, director, Catholic Tuberculosis facility for children in Trelon (Nord). Hid and protected 51 Jewish youths and children.
Monsieur Roux, Chief of the Aliens Bureau, Prefecture of Marseilles; helpful to refugees and Jewish emigrés
Lt. Colonel René de Roys† (Marquis Henriette de Roys), Villecerf (Seine-et-Marne). Career officer in French military, hid Jews on his estate. Caught, deported to Dora concentration camp. Murdered April 24, 1944.
Constance de Saint-Seine Poiters, civil servant, teacher. Made and distributed forged documents in a rescue network headed by Father Jean Fleury. Worked with Helene Durand.
General Robert de Saint-Vincent, Commander 14 military region, Lyon, France; refused to command his troops to participate in deportation of Jews August 29, 1942; he was immediately relieved of his command.
Dr. Raymond Simorre, head physician, Bézier Prison, Department of Hérault. Warned Jews of planned arrests of Jews who then were able to avoid deportation. As a result, most of the Jews in Bézier survived the war. Simorre also hid and smuggled Jews.
Madame Spaak†. Worked with French underground and Jewish rescue networks to save the lives of Jewish children. Worked with Pastor Paul Vegara and Marcelle Guillemont to save 60 Jewish children. Arrested and murdered by Gestapo.
Joseph Stork, boys high school principal, Limoges (Haute-Vienne). 50 Jewish students attended the school and were protected under false identities by Joseph Stork and his staff. Hid student in his residence. All survived the war.
Louis Terral and wife, Henriette Terral, Gagny, near Villemomble outside Paris. Actively participated in Réseau Sampson underground network, which helped save Jews and others. Founded his own rescue network, which produced and distributed 1,000 forged IDs and other documents. Helped hide and move endangered Jews in Paris area. Arrested and deported to Buchenwald and Bergen-Belsen. Survived.
Jacques Toulat, Mayor, Alain Bonneau, police officer, and Camille Thibault, chief of police of Chauvigny, Department of Vienne. The town of Chauvigny, led by the mayor and police department, hid, sheltered and protected 75 Jewish refugee families from arrest and deportation during the German occupation of the area.
Mayor Trotabas of Beauvezer (Alpes-de-Haute-Provence), and local police (gendarmes), hid and provided food and medicine to Jews.
Colonel Eugène van der Meersch, French Air Force. Active member of French resistance. Helped rescue 52 Jewish families during the German occupation.
Edourd Vigneron, Chief of the Alien Department of the Police, helped foreign Jews escape.
Georges Vigoureux, commander, police station, Bagnerès-de-Bigorre, Department Haute-Pyrénées, and Jacques Vigoureux. George Vigoureux and his son, Jacques, warned Jews of impending raids and arrests, allowing them to escape deportation and almost certain death. George was arrested and deported to Dachau.
Gaston Vincent†, Marseilles, and Michel Vincent, son. Founded the Marseilles office of Amitié Chrétienne. Worked with Jewish rescue and relief organizations to help Jews escape from French camps and to hide from arrest and deportations. Gaston Vincent was arrested and executed by Germans.
Susane Vincent-Jacquet, Marseilles. Rescue activist with Amitié Chrétienne (Christian Friendship) in the Marseilles area. Worked with Gaston Vincent and son, Michel. Hid and sheltered Jews.
Emily Voiron, municipal clerk, Chambery, Department of Savoie. Provided false papers and documents to help Jews avoid arrest and deportation.
Mayor of Annemasse, French border town; helped house Jewish children during border rescue activities
French Citizens and Officials Who Helped Jews in Le Chambon-sur-Lignon Area
Note: This list is a work in progress.
Georgette Barraud. Ran a children’s home that hid some of the Sabelman family.
Eva Jouve. Ran a children’s home called Les Airelles in Le Chambon. Hid Jews.
Berthe Kittler and M. Kittler. Owned a farm in Le Chambon that hid Daniel Milgram.