Magda and André Trocme and the people of Le Chambon

During World War II, Magda and André Trocme lived with their four children in Le Chambon. Le Chambon is located in central France. A lot of Jews were hidden in Le Chambon but nobody thought of it being dangerous. About 5,000 Jews passed through Le Chambon and the surrounding villages. In the three years during which the village served as a shelter for the Jews of Southern France. The Chambonais hid Jews in their homes, sometimes for as long as four years, provided them with forged I.D. and ration cards, and helped them over the border to safety in Switzerland.

The rescuing of the Jews all started one cold evening during the winter of 1940-41 with a knock at the door of the pastor Andre Trocmé, the Protestant pastor of Le Chambon, and his wife, Magda. Pastor Trocme answered the door and there stood a hungry, cold woman and she asked to come in. She said she was a German Jew, and she was hiding and needed shelter. Magda asked a family if they would hide her. They agreed to do this, and took the woman into their home.

André refused to give names of Jews to the police. The police searched the village for three days, but arrested only one refugee, an Austrian who subsequently was released because he was only half Jewish. The Nazis got furious and sent two gendarmes to the house to arrest André. Everybody gave him going away presents. All the villagers said good bye. After five weeks he returned from prison. André Trocme was then forced to hide from the Germans for helping Jews and refusing to obey all government orders.

Some Jewish children survived the Holocaust because they were protected by people who were not Jewish. Children quickly learned to master the prayers and rituals of their “adopted” religion, usually Catholicism or Protestantism, in order to keep their Jewish identity hidden from everybody, even their closest friends. It is amazing that Jews couldn’t trust anyone. I would not know who to trust. Although Le Chambon is a village that welcomed refugees, other villages in France and in other countries also provided a protective environment and a safe place for Nazi victims during the Holocaust years.

Pastor Andre Trocme died years ago, and Magda Trocme passed away in October 1996. A tree was planted in honor of them. A small garden and plaque on the grounds of Yad Vashem were dedicated to the people of Le Chambon.

"The responsibility of Christians is to resist the violence that will be brought to bear on their conscience through the weapons of the spirit." This is a quote that Pastor André Trocme really said. He felt that it was the responsibility of everyone to help the Jewish people. Pastor Trocme faced a lot of extreme danger. I believe these words are great. This great village was very courageous and did great things during World War II.

References:
Books:

Courage To Care
By Carol Rittner and Sondra Myers