The Greatest Escape: How one French community saved thousands of lives from the Nazis - A Good Place to Hide (42 page)

Le Chambon village covered in snow. There is no accurate date for this picture, but it was probably taken in the winter of 1941-42.
Roger Darcissac collection, courtesy Lieu de Memoire, Le Chambon-sur-Lignon

A tourist poster from 1926 reads: ‘Protestants, take your holidays in Le Chambon-sur-Lignon.
Courtesy Lieu de Memoire, Le Chambon-sur-Lignon

A young André Trocmé displaying film star good looks.
Courtesy Nelly Trocmé Hewitt

Magda Trocmé around the time of her marriage.
Courtesy Nelly Trocmé Hewitt

André Trocmé in his French Army uniform, probably in 1922. The young pacifist is in the centre of the middle row, holding a cup.
Courtesy Nelly Trocmé Hewitt

Left to right:
Nelly Trocmé, Marco Darcissac and Catherine Cambessédès photographed in Le Chambon in wartime. A younger Marco appears on the cover of this book.
Courtesy Catherine Cambessédès

Hanne Hirsch
Courtesy Hanne Liebmann

Charles Guillon
Courtesy Lieu de Mémoire, Le Chambon-sur-Lignon

André and Mireille Philip. Mireille Philip moved to Le Chambon shortly after the German occupation of France in June 1942. She was an active forger and Resistance worker. André Philip, an elected deputy in the French National Assembly, joined General de Gaulle’s government-in-exile in London.
Courtesy Lieu de Mémoire, Le Chambon-sur-Lignon

One of Oscar Rosowsky’s forged identity cards, this time for himself as Jean-Claude Plunne. For puzzled readers of French, Oscar’s hair colour (‘Cheveux’) is not ‘cat’ (‘chat’) but ‘chestnut’ (‘châtaigne’, abbreviated). Note the detailed interest in the size of his nose (‘Nez’), supposedly a giveaway of Jewishness. Oscar modestly put his size as ‘moy’, short for ‘moyenne’ (medium).
Courtesy Oscar Rosowsky

The Héritier barn, where Oscar Rosowsky had his forgery bureau. Oscar and Sammy Charles lived and worked behind the low white door on the left. Dr and Madame Cambessédès rented the large house across the street, beyond the white gate, and Catherine stayed there for the early part of the war.
Contemporary photograph by the author

Refugees arriving by train at Le Chambon railway station.
Roger Darcissac collection, courtesy Lieu de Mémoire, Le Chambon-sur-Lignon