Country France Department Haute-Loire Time zone CET (UTC+1) Area 41.71 km² Local time Tuesday 3:39 AM | Region Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Canton Tence INSEE/Postal code 43051 /43400 Population 2,662 (2007) Arrondissement Yssingeaux | |
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Weather 3°C, Wind NW at 5 km/h, 83% Humidity | ||
Le Chambon-sur-Lignon is a commune in the Haute-Loire department in south-central France.
Contents
- Map of 43400 Le Chambon sur Lignon France
- World War II
- Honors
- Miscellaneous
- Geography
- Twin towns
- References
Map of 43400 Le Chambon-sur-Lignon, France
Residents have been primarily Huguenot or Protestant since the 17th century. During World War II such residents made the commune a haven for Jews fleeing from the Nazis. They both hid them within the town and countryside, and helped them flee to neutral Switzerland. In 1990 the town was one of two collectively honored as the Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem in Israel for saving Jews in Nazi-occupied Europe. The other town awardee was the Dutch village of Nieuwlande.
World War II
With the leadership of local minister André Trocmé and his deputy pastor Edouard Theis, the citizens of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon risked their lives to hide Jews who were being rounded up by the Nazis and the collaborationist Vichy regime and sent to the death camps. They hid the Jews in private homes, on farms in the area, as well as in public institutions. Whenever the Nazi patrols came searching, the Jews were hidden in the mountainous 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." The situation took a more tense turn when the Germans invaded the South Zone in 1942. Local people continued to protect the Jews in open defiance of the authorities. For instance, they gave Vichy Youth Minister Georges Lamirand a petition against the deportation of the Jews when he visited the village in 1942.
In addition to providing shelter, the citizens of the town obtained forged identification and ration cards for Jews to use. They 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 murdered.
It was estimated that the people of the area of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon had saved between 3,000-5,000 Jews from certain death. However, more recent estimates lower the figures to between 800 and 1000.
Honors
Miscellaneous
The town of Chambon-sur-Lignon is home to Le Collège-Lycée Cévenol International, a private boarding school founded in 1938 by local Protestant ministers André Trocmé and Edouard Theis.
Alexander Grothendieck, a central figure of 20th century mathematics, was among the Jewish children sheltered during the war.
Malcolm Gladwell uses Chambon-sur-Lignong in his book David and Goliath as an example of how the rebellious origin of its people, influenced their actions when protecting jewish people during second world war.
Geography
The town lies in the middle of the commune, on the right bank of the Lignon du Velay, which flows north-northwestward through the commune and forms part of its north-western border.