About Le Chambon

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On the wartime rescue
in the area of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon

Upcoming documentary film:

—Weapons of the Spirit—remastered 30th-anniversary edition, a feature documentary by Pierre Sauvage, soon available once again in a revised, remastered edition (1989-2020, 93-min.)
—Weapons of the Spirit—Short Version—remastered 30th-anniversary edition, adapted by Pierre Sauvage from his feature documentary, soon available once again in a revised, remastered edition (1990-2020, 40-min.)

"No matter how many times one sees Pierre Sauvage's masterpiece, it never fails to move us deeply. Weapons of the Spirit is a living monument and the most compelling document we possess regarding the rescue of Jews during the Shoah on the Plateau Vivarais-Lignon in south-central France. As we look into the faces of the rescuers, we experience first-hand their peaceful demeanor, their modesty, simplicity, and serenity, and, forty years after the events in question, their absolute astonishment that anyone could possibly consider what they did anything other than normal human behavior. No written account could ever have more convincingly passed this information on to future generations."

Dr. Patrick Henry, Cushing Eells Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, Whitman College, and author, "We Only Know Men": The Rescue of Jews in France during the Holocaust.

English-language books include the following:

—A Good Place to Hide: How One French Village Saved Thousands of Lives in World War II (U.S.) or The Greatest Escape: How One French Community Saved Thousands of Lives from the Nazis Good Place to Hide: How One French Village Saved Thousands of Lives in World War II (U.K.) by Peter Grose (2014)

—Magda and André Trocmé: Resistance Figures by Pierre Boismorand by Pierre Boismorand (2014)

—A Portrait of Pacifists: Le Chambon, the Holocaust and the Lives of André and Magda Trocmé by Richard P. Unsworth (2012)

—I Will Never Be Fourteen Years Old: Le Chambon-sur-Lignon and My Second Life by François Lecomte (2009)

—Hidden on the Mountain: Stories of Children Sheltered from the Nazis in Le Chambon by Karen Gray Ruelle and Deborah Durland Desaix (2007)

—Lest Innocent Blood Be Shed: The Story of Le Chambon and How Goodness Happened There by Philip P. Hallie (1979)

Google Scholar search for "Le Chambon"

Recent French-language books include the following:

—La montagne refuge : Accueil et sauvetage des juifs autour du Chambon-sur-Lignon edited by Patrick Cabanel (includes excerpts from Weapons of the Spirit/Les armes de l'esprit, 2013)

Fiction dealing with the history of the area of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon during World War II includes:

—The Auschwitz Escape by Joel C. Rosenberg (2014, includes references to Le Chambon)

—Angels and Donkeys: Tales for Christmas and Other Times by André Trocmé, translated by Nelly Trocmé Hewett. (Several of these stories were written in Le chambon-sur-Lignon during World War II.)

—Greater Than Angels by Carol Matas (young adult fiction).

—The Innocents Within by Robert Daley (1999): see comments including Nelly Trocmé Hewett's unpublished letter to the New York Times about this purported historical novel and its portrayal of her parents and the area of Le Chambon

—La Colline aux Mille Enfants, French TV movie adapted from the story of Le Chambon. A great dramatic movie about "Le Chambon" remains to be made.

Texts by Pierre Sauvage include the following:

On "Le Chambon"

"A Most Persistent Haven," Moment, Oct. 1983, 31-37
"Ten Things I Would Like to Know About Righteous Conduct in Le Chambon and Elsewhere During the Holocaust," fall 1984 (“Faith in Humankind: Rescuers of Jews During the Holocaust," U. S. Holocaust Memorial Council conference, Washington, D. C., Sept. 19, 1984), Humboldt Journal of Social Relations, 13.1 and 2 (Fall/Winter & Spring/Summer 1985/86): 252-259; also printed in "The Courage To Care: Rescuers of Jews During the Holocaust," Carol Rittner, R.S.M., and .Sondra Myers, Editors (New York University Pres, 1986)
in French: Cérémonie du souvenir au Chambon-sur-Lignon, le 26 juillet 1986
in French: Inauguration des Journées Mémoires du Plateau, le 11 juin 2004
in French: Text for Journal du Chambon, July 2004
in French: Message de Bienvenue au Président Chirac, le 7 juillet 2004
The Message of Le Chambon, July 7, 2004 (adapted from Welcome, Mr. President, July 7, 2004)
in French: Le Défi du Chambon, Le Figaro, le 13 juillet 2004
The Challenge of Le Chambon, the Forward, Oct. 8, 2004 (adapted from an article in Paris daily Le Figaro, July 13, 2004)

On Weapons of the Spirit:

"Weapons of the Spirit: A Journey Home," article by Pierre Sauvage, The Hollywood Reporter, March 17, 1987

Le Chambon-sur-Lignon area Internet links (to be updated):

Le Chambon-sur-Lignon now has a museum about the rescue effort that took place throughout the area: Lieu de Mémoire/Place of Memory.

The new museum, modestly called a "Place of Memory," was inaugurated in 2013 and has been welcoming many visitors since then. For more information: Lieu de Mémoire/Place of Memory.

Official Le Chambon-sur-Lignon website (in French)
Le Chambon-sur-Lignon Tourist Office: in French, in English, in Spanish, in Russian
Olivier Russier's non-official Le Chambon-sur-Lignon website (in English or in French)
Official Le Mazet Saint Voy website (in French)
Collège Cévenol (in French) and Collège Cévenol U.S. alumni website
Traveling to Le Chambon-sur-Lignon (in French)
Manifesto underscoring the crisis at the once respected Société d'Histoire de la Montagne (in French)
The Lignon river (in French)
The trouts of the Lignon River/Les truites du Lignon (in French)
Hôtel Bel Horizon, Le Chambon-sur-Lignon (village)
Hôtel Clair-Matin, just outside of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon)
Le Charleston et Chez Léon, hotel and restaurant, Le Chambon-sur-Lignon (countryside)
Golf du Chambon-sur-Lignon (18-hole) golf course: in French and English
Prominent local author Agnès Bertron's website (in French)
Luxury, 3-star restaurant in the area: Auberge et Clos des Cîmes (Régis Marcon)

Le Chambon-sur-Lignon area history Internet links (to be updated):

Museum of Tolerance Online Multimedia Learning Center on area of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon
Jewish Student Online Research Center on area of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon (from Yad Vashem data)
Auschwitz.dk website on area of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon

Internet Links on righteous Gentiles

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