Le Chambon-sur-Lignon
Le Chambon-sur-Lignon
Lo Chambon (Occitan) | |
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Commune | |
Coordinates: 45°03′42″N 4°18′11″E / 45.0617°N 4.3031°E | |
Country | France |
Region | Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes |
Department | Haute-Loire |
Arrondissement | Yssingeaux |
Canton | Mézenc |
Government | |
• Mayor (2020–2026) | Jean-Michel Eyraud[1] |
Area 1 | 41.71 km2 (16.10 sq mi) |
Population (2021)[2] | 2,400 |
• Density | 58/km2 (150/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
INSEE/Postal code | 43051 /43400 |
Elevation | 874–1,139 m (2,867–3,737 ft) (avg. 1,000 m or 3,300 ft) |
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. |
Righteous Among the Nations |
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By country |
Le Chambon-sur-Lignon (French pronunciation: in south-central France.
Residents have been primarily
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 northwestern border.
World War II
During World War II, throughout France, the Nazis and the collaborationist
Under the leadership of local Protestant minister Pastor
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
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
It was estimated that the people of the area of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon saved between 3,000 and 5,000 Jews from certain death.
Present day
The ethos and practice of sheltering refugees continues, with migrants coming from many war zones, including Congo, Libya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Kosovo and Chechnya.[5]
In 2021 the commune was bequeathed around €2m by Eric Schwam who was hidden in a school in 1943 and remained until 1950.[6]
Population
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Source: EHESS[7] and INSEE (1968-2017)[8] |
Honors
- In 1981 the entire town was awarded an honorary degree by Haverford College in Pennsylvania in recognition of its humanitarian efforts.
- In 1982, documentary filmmaker Pierre Sauvage – who was born and sheltered in Le Chambon – returned there to film Weapons of the Spirit[9] (1989).
- In 1990, for risking their lives to rescue Jews, the entire town was recognized as "Holocaustin Israel was dedicated to the people of Chambon-sur-Lignon.
- In 2004 French President Jacques Chirac officially recognized the heroism of the town.[10][11]
Eric Schwam, an Austrian man who fled the Nazis with his family during the Second World War and found refuge in the village, bequeathed approximately €2 million for the village.[12]
Education
The town of Chambon-sur-Lignon was home to
Personalities
Alexander Grothendieck, a central figure of 20th-century mathematics, was among the Jewish children sheltered during the war.
The paternal grandfather of actor Timothée Chalamet was from the town.[14]
Popular culture
Malcolm Gladwell uses Chambon-sur-Lignon 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 the Second World War.[15] The town also appears in the last book French author Romain Gary published before his death, The Kites, and recounts the bravery of its inhabitants in the face of danger.
Twin towns
- Fislisbach, Switzerland
- Meitar, Israel - since November 9, 2006
Notes
- ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 13 September 2022.
- ^ "Populations légales 2021". The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
- ISBN 9780881259087,443 pages, p.116
- ^ See also: Gladwell, Malcolm. David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2013.
- ^ Levine, Joshua (July–August 2018). "The Dispossessed: This French Town Has Welcomed Refugees for 400 Years". Smithsonian Magazine. Photographs by Lucian Perkins. p. 76.
- ^ Saint-Étienne, Agence France-Presse in (29 January 2021). "Man leaves €2m to French village that hid his family from Nazis". the Guardian. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
- ^ Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Le Chambon-sur-Lignon, EHESS (in French).
- ^ Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
- ^ Weapons of the Spirit
- ^ a b Jacques Chirac Honors French World War II Saviors, European Jewish Congress, 11 April 2007.
- ^ Sauvage, Pierre (8 October 2004). "Among the Villagers of Le Chambon". The Forward. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
- ^ "Man leaves €2m to French village that hid his family from Nazis". The Guardian. 29 January 2021. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
- ^ "Affaire Agnès : Le collège Cévenol ferme ses portes". 10 February 2014.
- ^ "Timothée Chalamet, petit-fils d'un pasteur du Chambon-sur-Lignon, en lice pour l'Oscar du meilleur acteur". France Bleu (in French). 2 March 2018.
- ^ Gladwell 2013, pp. 270–296.
References
- Gladwell, Malcolm (2013). David and Goliath : underdogs, misfits, and the art of battling giants. New York: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 978-0-316-20436-1.
- Grose, Peter (2015). A Good Place to Hide: How One French Community Saved Thousands Of Lives During World War II. ISBN 978-1-60598-692-0.
- Hallie, Philip P (1979). Lest Innocent Blood Be Shed: The Story of Le Chambon and How Goodness Happened There. ISBN 0-06-011701-X.
- Sauvage, Pierre (1989). Weapons of the Spirit (Les armes de l'esprit) (Documentary). USA/France: Chambon Foundation. Aired in the United States by the PBS.
- ISBN 0-689-81353-8. A book for youngsters.
- ISBN 978-0-06-220247-5.
- Paxson, Maggie (2019). The Plateau. New York: Riverhead Press. ISBN 9781594634758.
- Sémelin, Jacques (2013). Persécutions et entraides dans la France occupée : comment 75 % des juifs de France ont échappé à la mort (in French). Paris: Seuil Arènes. ISBN 978-2-35204-235-8.
See also
External links
- Chambon Foundation
- About Le Chambon-sur-Lignon at Yad Vashem site
- Weapons of the Spirit at IMDb
- College-Lycee International Cevenol
- https://web.archive.org/web/20090507153307/http://www.ushmm.org/outreach/rescuchr.htm
- http://www.hiddenonthemountain.com/