Lucien Bunel - Père Jacques de Jesus
Encyclopedia
Father Jacques de Jésus was a Roman Catholic priest of the Carmelite Order and headmaster of the Petit Collège Sainte-Thérèse de l' Enfant-Jésus.
Born Lucien Bunel in 1900, Father Jacques was one of the individuals who undertook efforts to help Jewish people during the Nazi Occupation of France
. His efforts were ultimately unsuccessful, resulting in his death at Linz, Austria after having suffered in the infamous Concentration Camp Gusen, the twin camp of CC Mauthausen in 1945.
Pere Jacques was named one of the "Righteous Among the Nations
" by the State of Israel in 1985, as a non-Jew who risked his life during the Holocaust to save Jews. French filmmaker Louis Malle
paid tribute to Père Jacques, his primary school headmaster, in the 1987 film Au revoir les enfants.
, France a refuge for young men seeking to avoid conscription for forced labor in Germany
and Jews. In January 1943, he enrolled three Jewish boys — Hans-Helmut Michel, Jacques-France Halpern, and Maurice Schlosser — as students under false names. He also hid a fourth Jewish boy, Maurice Bas, as a worker at the school; sheltered Schlosser’s father with a local villager; and placed the noted Jewish botanist, Lucien Weil, on the school’s faculty.
The Gestapo
discovered Father Jacques’ activities and seized the priest and the three Jewish students on January 15, 1944. Weil, his mother, and sister were arrested at their home that same day. On February 3, 1944, German authorities deported the boys and the Weil family to Auschwitz, where they perished. Father Jacques was imprisoned in several Nazi concentration camps before being liberated by American troops at Mauthausen in early May 1945. Suffering from tuberculosis and weighing only 75 pounds, he died several weeks later.
, honored Pere Jacques as one of the "Righteous Among the Nations
" for his efforts in hiding Jewish students at his Catholic boarding school.
Born Lucien Bunel in 1900, Father Jacques was one of the individuals who undertook efforts to help Jewish people during the Nazi Occupation of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. His efforts were ultimately unsuccessful, resulting in his death at Linz, Austria after having suffered in the infamous Concentration Camp Gusen, the twin camp of CC Mauthausen in 1945.
Pere Jacques was named one of the "Righteous Among the Nations
Righteous Among the Nations
Righteous among the Nations of the world's nations"), also translated as Righteous Gentiles is an honorific used by the State of Israel to describe non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust to save Jews from extermination by the Nazis....
" by the State of Israel in 1985, as a non-Jew who risked his life during the Holocaust to save Jews. French filmmaker Louis Malle
Louis Malle
Louis Malle was a French film director, screenwriter, and producer. He worked in both French cinema and Hollywood. His films include Ascenseur pour l'échafaud , Atlantic City , and Au revoir, les enfants .- Early years in France :Malle was born into a wealthy industrialist family in Thumeries,...
paid tribute to Père Jacques, his primary school headmaster, in the 1987 film Au revoir les enfants.
Activities in Nazi-occupied France
As headmaster of the Petit Collège Sainte-Thérèse de l’Enfant-Jésus, Father Jacques utilized the best tool available to him. He made the boys’ school in AvonAvon
-Rivers:*River Avon or Avon River , various rivers*Avon Water, a river in Scotland*Afon, the Welsh word for river, often anglicised to 'avon'-Canada:*Avon, New Brunswick, in the province of New Brunswick...
, France a refuge for young men seeking to avoid conscription for forced labor in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and Jews. In January 1943, he enrolled three Jewish boys — Hans-Helmut Michel, Jacques-France Halpern, and Maurice Schlosser — as students under false names. He also hid a fourth Jewish boy, Maurice Bas, as a worker at the school; sheltered Schlosser’s father with a local villager; and placed the noted Jewish botanist, Lucien Weil, on the school’s faculty.
The Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
discovered Father Jacques’ activities and seized the priest and the three Jewish students on January 15, 1944. Weil, his mother, and sister were arrested at their home that same day. On February 3, 1944, German authorities deported the boys and the Weil family to Auschwitz, where they perished. Father Jacques was imprisoned in several Nazi concentration camps before being liberated by American troops at Mauthausen in early May 1945. Suffering from tuberculosis and weighing only 75 pounds, he died several weeks later.
Yad Veshem
In 1985 the Israeli Holocaust remembrance center, Yad VashemYad Vashem
Yad Vashem is Israel's official memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, established in 1953 through the Yad Vashem Law passed by the Knesset, Israel's parliament....
, honored Pere Jacques as one of the "Righteous Among the Nations
Righteous Among the Nations
Righteous among the Nations of the world's nations"), also translated as Righteous Gentiles is an honorific used by the State of Israel to describe non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust to save Jews from extermination by the Nazis....
" for his efforts in hiding Jewish students at his Catholic boarding school.
Au revoir les enfants
The film Au revoir les Enfants was a film made and directed by Louis Malle, a student who at the age of 11 attended Père Jacques school and witnessed his arrest. The film is about what happened that day and the weeks before, but is set in another school with different characters.External links
- United States Holocaust Memorial MuseumUnited States Holocaust Memorial MuseumThe United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is the United States' official memorial to the Holocaust. Adjacent to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the USHMM provides for the documentation, study, and interpretation of Holocaust history...
- Father Jacques - http://www.gusen.org/pers/bunel01x.htm