Righteous Among the Nations medal awarded to a French children’s home director

http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/units/us-005578-irn95185-irn7087 an entity of type: Record

rico:history

Juliette Usach (1899-1984) was born in Spain to a Protestant pastor. After completing school, Juliette became a doctor. On July 17, 1936, Nationalist rebels staged an uprising against the Spanish democratically-elected republic, beginning the Spanish Civil War. Both Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy intervened on behalf of the Nationalists. The conflict led to mass violence, and a large number of loyalists were imprisoned in concentration camps or conscripted for forced labor. In 1938, Juliette fled to Pau, about 31 miles over the border in France. In 1939, Juliette was recruited by Marguerite de Felice, a member of the International Relief for Women and Children of the Spanish Republic, to manage a boarding house for Spanish mothers and children. That May, Juliette, her father, and her sister moved to Chambon-sur-Lignon, a Protestant village in south-central France, where the boarding house was located. On September 3, two days after Germany invaded Poland, France declared war on Germany. In May 1940, Germany invaded France and forced their surrender in June. Germany occupied Northern France and the Atlantic coastline while the southern and eastern regions, including Chambon, were administered the new Vichy French government. The Vichy regime collaborated with the Nazis; instituting antisemitic legislation and camps patterned after those in Germany. That winter, Chambon’s pastor, André Trocmé and a contact with the American Friends Service Committee arranged the release of many Jewish children from the French internment camps. They were then taken in by the residents of Chambon and other villages in the region. Pastor Trocmé received assistance from le Comité Inter-Mouvements Auprès des Évacués (CIMAD, the Inter-Movement Committee for Evacuees) and the Secours Suisse aux Enfants (Swiss Society for Children’s Aid) to establish a colony for refugee children in Chambon. As part of this effort, in 1941, Juliette’s house was converted into a refuge for Jewish children. The refurbished house officially opened on May 14, 1941 as “La Guespy,” and housed children released from the internment camps, between ages 14 and 18. The group was comprised of adolescents from various European countries, and a mix of Jews, Catholics, and Protestants. Juliette was assisted by two supervisors, a cook, a housekeeper, and a teacher. While at La Guespy, children resumed schooling and were encouraged to attend religious services. Juliette consciously cultivated an atmosphere of religious tolerance and encouraged collective participation in both Jewish and non-Jewish holidays. The success of Guespy led to the opening of a second house for children in November. La Guespy was one of several children’s homes in the village under the direction of August Bohny, a Swiss school teacher and representative of the Swiss Red Cross. Collectively, the village housed around 200 refugee children. In the summer of 1942, the Vichy government began allowing round ups of Jews. On August 25, Juliette was away from Guespy and her wards were sent to another protective house. A group of policemen attempted a raid on the house and were confronted by August Bohny, who claimed the children were under the protection of the Swiss government. He threatened diplomatic action, and the gendarmes backed down. In November, Germany occupied the remainder of “free” France. By the end of December, Guespy housed 23 children. In 1943, the average age of the Guespy residents decreased to 13 or 14, mostly boys, who required more attention from the caretakers. Regular raids continued to occur in Chambon, however, Juliette and the residents of the community were able to protect the children. Though the children remained unharmed, the number of refugees the town could safeguard decreased. On June 6, 1944, the Allies landed in Normandy, beginning the liberation of France. The region surrounding Chambon was liberated by the Free French First Armored Division on September 2-3. Following the war, Juliette remained in Chambon. She ran a bookstore there from 1950 to 1964, and then joined the Salvation Army in Lyon. She lived her last years at the Rollin Foundation, a Protestant retirement home. On April 18, 1989, in recognition of her efforts at La Guespy, Yad Vashem recognized Juliette Usach as Righteous Among the Nations.

The medal was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1992 by Rudy Appel, a ward of Juliette Usach.

rico:date

1989 April 18-1990 September 10

rico:identifier

irn7087

rico:title

Righteous Among the Nations medal awarded to a French children’s home director

rico:recordResourceExtent

overall: | Depth: 0.250 inches (0.635 cm) | Diameter: 2.375 inches (6.033 cm)

rico:scopeAndContent

Medal awarded posthumously to Juliette Usach in recognition as a “Righteous Among the Nations,” by Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, Israel. Yad Vashem confers the honor on those who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust. Juliette Usach was a Protestant, Spanish doctor who fled to France in 1938 as a refugee of the Spanish Civil War. In 1939, she moved to the village of Chambon-sur-Lignon to become the director of a boarding house for Spanish mothers and children. After Germany’s invasion of France in May 1940, antisemitic legislation led to Jews being imprisoned in internment camps. Chambon became a haven for refugees, and the entire town worked together to create a welcoming and safe environment. With assistance from numerous organizations, Chambon’s pastor, André Trocmé, arranged the release of many Jewish children from the camps. Juliette’s house was refurbished, and on May 14, 1941, reopened as “La Guespy,” the first of what would become several children’s homes in Chambon. While at La Guespy, children resumed schooling and were encouraged to attend religious services. Juliette consciously cultivated an atmosphere of religious tolerance and encouraged collective participation in both Jewish and non-Jewish holidays. Following the liberation of France in September 1944, Juliette remained in Chambon until 1964, when she moved to Lyon to join the Salvation Army.

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No restrictions on access

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No restrictions on use

ehri:physicalCharacterisiticsAndTechnicalRequirements

Heavy, circular, gray-colored metal medal with embossed designs on both the front and back. The front features an image of a globe at the top-center, with wire wrapped three times around the northern hemisphere. The wire then continues once more around the globe, and descends below and forms an intricate braid with five strands of barbed wire that fan out across the bottom and run off the edge of the image. Two arms covered by long, striped sleeves emerge from the bottom and clutch two of the strands of barbed wire. An embossed Hebrew phrase surrounds the globe, divided in half by the wire. On the back is a landscape scene of a low, flat building with stone walls (the Hall of Remembrance at Yad Vashem) and undulating mountains in the background. In the expanse below the building is a single, small tree, with two lines of embossed Hebrew text, the engraved name of the awardee, and two lines of embossed French text. Around the bottom edge of the medal is an embossed phrase in French. The raised surfaces are lightly worn from use. back, center, engraved : À JULIETTE USACH [TO JULIETTE USACH]

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