The Hill of the Thousand Children

This made for TV movie tells the story of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon, a town in the Auvergne région of southern France that became a haven for fleeing Jews during WWII. With the leadership of minister Andre Trocme and his wife, beginning in 1942, the citizens of Chambon risked their lives to hide Jews who were being rounded up by the Nazis. They were hidden in private homes, on farms, in public institutions and in the countryside. In addition to providing shelter, the citizens of the town helped Jews to cross the border to neutral Switzerland. It is estimated that the people of Chambon saved between 3,000-5,000 Jews from certain death. In 1990 , Yad Vashem recognized the entire town as “Righteous Among the Nations”. The story begins in fall 41, when a young exhausted woman knocks at the door of the village’s presbytery. The wife of the pastor gives her shelter and begins a collective rescue mission that will refuge hundreds who will follow to escape the Nazi persecution.