How the Efforts Made by the Le Chambon Village in France Successful in Preventing Hitlers Final Solution - Essay Example

?To what extent where the efforts made by the Le Chambon Village in France (Protestant Church-Pastor Andre Trocme) successful in preventing Hitler’s final solution? In the year 1933, Nazi party under the rule of Adolf Hitler, triumphed to power in Germany. After attaining the power the Nazi leaders issued an anti- Jewish legislation and massive street violence to eradicate the Jews from Europe. Massacre of Jews was the main aim of Hitler. Hitler adopted ruthless methods to drive out the Jews from Germany by depriving them from every opportunity and economy required for their survival and completely separating them from the German society. Post World War II the Nazi leaders focused their attention on the permanent removal of the Jewish population from Germany as well as from the entire Europe. Initially the German authorities launched ‘ghettos’ where all the Polish, German, Austrian and Czech Jews were deported to these ‘ghettos’. ‘Ghettos’ were districts where the Jewish population was segregated from other communities and were forced to live in miserable conditions. Building ghettos was a temporary measure taken by the German authorities. But very soon long term methods of abolishing the Jewish pollution were adopted by Hitler. Initially German armed forces conducted a shooting operation on the Jews. Very soon gas vans comprising of poisonous carbon monoxide was introduced by the German police. In the year 1939 Hitler implemented ‘Final Solution’ to assassinate millions of Jews in Europe by the help of poison gas, shooting and other means, “ the vision of the Final Solution- a program aimed at murdering every last Jew in the German grasp- had crystallized in the minds of the Nazi leadership and was henceforth being turned into reality.” (Browning, 424) During the Holocaust in Europe under Hitler’s regime, France offered some hope by resisting this barbaric act of Final Solution. France was ruled by the powerful Vichy government. The government adopted measures to protect the Jews from the Germans. Telephone workers who worked under the instruction of the Vichy authorities intercepted messages and the railway workers developed a resistant group against the German’s to protect the Jews from been killed. The people of the Le Chambon Village in France under the leadership of Pastor Andre Trocme along with the help of other powerful leaders and government and by following the ideology of the Protestant Movement were able to rescue the lives of many Jews. In the year 1939, France had the maximum number of Jewish population than any other state in the entire European continent. In the year 1940, the Jews were deported to the unoccupied zone of France that was ruled by the Vichy government under the supervision of the Nazi army. The Jews travelled to the Vichy France in a hope to get protection from the Germans. But the Jews had to face fierce discriminations in the Vichy France as were prevalent in Germany. After France faced defeat in the hands of German, the German authorities shifted their focus and attention on the matters related to the possibilities of defeat of Britain and Russia in War. The Jews, who were residing in the Vichy France, were temporarily relieved from the wrath of the Nazis. The prevention methods adopted by the Vichy France had no intention of murdering the Jews. In the Vichy France, discriminations of the Jews were highly prevalent especially in the employment sectors. People of pure French origin were only eligible for the public sector jobs. The Jews were forced to hand over their residence to the Vichy government. The Jews who were residing in France for longer period of time were expected to be assimilated in the French nation. In the Wannsee Conference that was held in Berlin to solve the Jewish question new strategies and decisions were taken about the Jews in a form of final solution. During the Holocaust in France, a small village called Le Chambon-sur-lignon in France protected the lives of nearly five thousand Jews by providing shelter to them. France at that period of time had two types of zones. One was the occupied Northern zone that was under the direct rule and supervision of the Nazis and the un-occupied Southern zone was under the rule of the Vichy government. Le Chambon village was under the rule of the Vichy government. The Vichy government signed a treaty with the German authorities to hand over all the Jew refugees that have taken shelter in its zone. The Vichy authorities instructed the villagers as well as their leaders including Andre Trocme and every organization to stop working for a moral cause of saving the lives of the Jews. But the villagers disobeyed the French government and continued sheltering the Jews in their homes. The Chambonnaise were successors of the Huguenots who were the first Protestants in France. The people of France were mostly catholic. The protestant Chambonnaise themselves survived the tyranny in France so they could easily empathize with the suffering of the Jews. Under the leadership of Trocme, the villagers considered protecting the Jews as their duty even by risking their life. Andre Trocme was a descendant of French Huguenots and contributed by setting up schools in the village for the education of the Jewish children. (Hanna) During the reign of Hitler, especially after the establishment of the final solution, the churches in the entire Europe failed to oppose Nazism because they feared the horror of Holocaust. The churches were against this ruthless act but were helpless to protest against the decision of Hitler. Most of the Catholic and protestant churches choose to avoid the cruelty by believing that Christians should not be involved in the political matters of the country and the difference between sacred and secular should be maintained. But the ideology of the churches in the Le Chambon village was completely opposite. The church and the people of the village believed that it was the duty of the Christians to help the needy and people in distress. The mayor of the villager named Charles Guillon used to organize shelter and false identification for the Jew refugees. The protestant pastors requested the authorities of the congregations to hide the Jews. The church possessed its own rescue networks. The protestant church of the village was place of refuge for the Jewish children. Andre Trocme believed that ‘faith must find itself in action’ (Hanna). He used to inspire the people through his religious preaches. Initially the Jews who fled from different parts of Europe to seek refuge in the Le Chambon village used to hide in Hotel May which was located in between Le Chambon and the Trocme Presbytery. The Bible study institutions acted as the main communication mediums to search for places to hide the Jews. Many of the Jews were hidden either in the farms or in the thick forests that was surrounding the village. Mostly the refugees were given shelter in the homes of the villagers. The organizations like Quakers, Swiss Red Cross used to provide financial help to the rescue operation. The villagers used to help the refugees to travel to Switzerland by guiding them along the underground railway. This rescue operation continued in the village from the year 1940 to 1944 till the end of the war. In the year 1942, the Germans moved to the southern zone of France and created a hindrance in the smooth flow of the rescue operation. The German officials used to frequently raided the village in search for Jewish refugees. But Magda Trocme used to be warned by the spies of the possible raid. This helped the villagers and the leaders to hide the refugees in a safe place where it was impossible for the Nazis to find them. After the assassination of Andre Trocme, the villagers continued with the moral cause. Along with the protection of the Jews, Le Chambon village also practiced a non- cooperation movement against the Vichy government. They disobey the government and helped the Jews. (Hanna) After the year 1943, providing shelter and security to the Jews became a ritual on the plateau. This rescue mission was successfully done by the efforts of the entire twelve Protestant parishes. Other organizations like “Darbyists, Swiss Protestants, American Quakers, Evangelicals, Catholics, Jewish institutes and nonbelievers” also helped and supported the villagers of Le Chambon (Hanna). The villagers, the leaders and the other organizations unified and risked their lives to save the Jew refugees from destruction. Not a single resident of the village ever betrayed a Jew. The Le Chambon village was successful to a great extent to help the Jews and prevent Hitler’s final solution. Le Chambon, with the help of their leader, Andre Trocme the town pastor, revolted against the ruthless act of the Vichy government and the Nazis from the year 1940 to 1944 and successfully saved the lives of five thousand Jews. Andre Trocme was a spiritual principal of a Protestant Church in the Le Chambon village. This village and the other surrounding villages became a refuge of many Jewish families who have outlived the war. Trocme requested the worshippers who attend his Church regularly to provide shelter to the helpless Jews from being killed. Many Jews took refuge to the hills of the Le Chambon village and the others took shelter in the asylum till they were able to cross the border and escape to Switzerland. The resident’s of the village helped the Jews by providing shelter in their homes, schools, and public institutions and even accompanied them to the risky treks of Swiss border. The whole community united to help and protect the Jews because they believed that it was their Christian obligation. (Vashem) There were several motivational factors for the people of the village to cooperatively save the lives of the Jews. France is a Catholic state. According to the Protestant history, the people who belonged to the religious minority group also experienced the same tyranny similar to the suffering of the Jews. So the people of the village in France emphasized with the Jews because they share the same biblical tradition. Most importantly the people acted due to the inspiration and motivation of their powerful leader Trocme and his wife. Magda Trocme, wife of Andre Trocme actively helped her husband in this mission. She personally communicated with the families who were ready to accommodate the Jewish refugees. The people of the village used to receive the refugees from the station and placed them in safe areas. All these activities which demoralized the anti- Jewish policies were executed under the leadership and guidance of Andre Trocme. But with the course of time Trocme and the village people failed to hide their rescue operation from the eyes of the government. The Vichy leaders demanded Trocme to stop his activity. Trocme in return replied that, “these people here came for help and for shelter. I am their shepherd. A shepherd does not forsake his flock…. I do not know what a Jew is. I know only human beings.” (Vashem) The authorities of the government tried their best by creating pressure on Trocme and his men to stop rescuing the Jews but in vain. Trocme and his group continued with their holy cause of saving the Jews from being slaughtered by the Nazi troops. In the year 1942, Trocme encountered Georges Lamirand a minister of the Vichy government who travelled to the village to pay an official visit. Trocme strongly uttered his opinion regarding his ideology and mission to him. In the year 1943, Trocme along with his two colleagues Reverand Edouard Theis and Roger Dadcissac were arrested and detained in the camp located near Limoges. The authorities tried to create pressure on Trocme to cease the activities but when they were unable they ordered Trocme to move underground. In spite of the absence of Trocme, the village people continued with their moral work and created a safe place for the Jews to live till the end of the war. Later in the year 1971, Le Chambon residents were awarded for their noble work by Yad Vashem. In the year 1943, Trocme was taken to the detention camp in Compiegne by the Nazi’s and later in the year 1944; he was killed in the gas chamber of Majdanek. (Vashem) Trocme and his wife helped the Jews in several ways from the German’s. One night a Jewish woman who fled from Germany asked for shelter in Trocme’s house. Trocme’s wife wanted to help the women but she realized that the women would require false identity certificate to release her from the arrest. Magda Trocme visited the Mayor to help the Jew women. The mayor refused to help Magda because according to him there was already lot of French Jews in the village and the German Jew would create trouble for them. Magda was extremely disappointed for not being able to help the helpless women and asked the German Jew women to leave her house on the next day. Magda provided the contact information of the people who might be able to help the Jew women. Magda’s, “contribution came from the habit of being always ready to help”. (Michalczyk, 236) But gradually the refugees who were Jews arrived in the village from Germany and other parts of European countries to seek shelter from the local residents of the village. Magda Trocme along with her husband helped large number of Jews to escape to the Swiss border and save their lives from the Nazi’s. (“Pastor Andre Trocme”) The Le Chambon villagers welcomed the Jewish refugees gladly and provided them with food and water. The famers protected the Jewish by hiding them in their homes and protecting them from their enemies. Le Chambon villagers were very poor and were mostly dependent on the farming. Food was a scarcity in their homes but they still never hesitated to sacrifice their meal by sharing it with the Jewish refugees. In the year 1943, Andre Trocme wrote, “in the course of summer we have been able to help about sixty Jewish refugees in our home; we have hidden them, fed them, plucked them out of deportation groups, and often we have taken them to a safe country. You can imagine what struggles- with the authorities- what real dangers this means for us: threats of arrest, submitting to long interrogations”. (Shulman) Trocme’s ideologies were highly appreciated by the Le Chambon villagers. The villagers were extremely influenced by the teaching of Trocme. Le Chambon village was an unoccupied zone which was not under the control of the German rule rather the village was under the Vichy government. Trocme along with the villagers fought against both the Vichy and Nazi leader, “houses of refuge were established in an around Le Chambon- sur- Lignon to feed, clothe, protect, and educate young children and adolescents who…… were deported”. (Henry, 45) If asked by the officials of the Vichy government, the villagers used to introduce the refugee Jews as their cousins. The Jews also adapted the lifestyle of the villagers and worked along with them in the farms. The villagers even risked their lives and issued false identity card to protect the Jews. The Jews children acquired education with the other children in the village. There were other institutions that helped the Jews along with Trocme. Quakers, Swiss Red Cross along with the other surrounding villages unified to save the lives of the Jews. Vichy government sent officials to search the village but they were unable to find a single Jew in the village because the villagers had hid them. Trocme warned the villagers about the arrival of the police in search of the Jews. The villagers were successful in resisting the Vichy police and the Nazis and protected the lives of several helpless Jews. (Young) The Le Chambon village along with its residents helped in the rescue operation of the Jews who fled from Germany and other parts of Europe to save their lives from the Nazis. Hitler and the other influential authorities established the final solution in Berlin conference to solve the Jewish question. Many measures were taken to eradicate the Jews population from Germany and the entire Europe. The Jews were mercilessly killed by the Nazi soldiers or were evacuated to the ghettos. France was the only place especially the Le Chambon village was the only place where the Jews were save. The Jews from different parts of Europe used to take refuge in this village. The villagers risked their life and saved thousands of Jews under the influence of pastor Andre Trocme. References 1. Browning, Christopher. The Origins of the Final Solution: The Evolution of Nazi Jewish Policy, USA: U of Nebraska Press, 2007 2. Hanna, Bronwen, Rescue and resistance on the plateau: Why an isolated French community saved thousands of Jews during World War II, Center for Public Christianity, July 28, 2011 from: http://www.publicchristianity.org/Lechambon1.html 3. Henry, Patrick. We only know men: the rescue of Jews in France during the Holocaust, Washington: CUA Press, 2007 4. Michalczyk, John. Resisters, rescuers and refugees, USA: Rowman & Littlefield, 1997 5. Vashem, Yad, The Village of Le Chambon- sur- Ligon, The Righteous Among The Nations, July 26, 2011 from: URL http://www1.yadvashem.org/yv/en/righteous/stories/trocme.asp 6. “Pastor Andre Trocme”, The Jewish Foundation for the righteous, 2011, July 27, 2011 from: http://www.jfr.org/site/PageServer?pagename=sup_trocme 7. Young, Justin, Andre Trocme and Le Chambon, 2005, July 27, 2011 from: URL http://www.yale.edu/gsp/rescue/download/trocme.htm 8. Shulman, William, To Save One Life the Story of Righteous Gentiles, 1999, July 27, 2011 from: URL http://www.holocaust-trc.org/save1life.pdf Read More