Lagarde Marcel

Lagarde, Marcel File 2833 In June 1940, the sisters Hélène Goldman and Simone Fishman and their widowed mother fled from Metz to the French interior. After several stops, they reached Pleine Selve, in the département of Gironde in the occupied zone. On May 29, 1942, the authorities ordered all Jewish citizens to wear a yellow patch with a black Star of David on their lapels. Marcel Lagarde, a teacher who also served as municipal secretary, provided the three refugees with the yellow patches but advised them not to wear them because the mother, who did not have French citizenship, was liable to be deported. On November 17, 1943, several Germans came to Lagarde’s office, asking for the mother’s address. Lagarde delayed the Germans in his office and sent someone to warn her to flee to the forest. The two girls were not at home, and the mother, unaware that Lagarde had already warned her daughters, did not flee out of concern for them. She was arrested and deported to Auschwitz, where she perished about a month later. The Germans returned for the two sisters, but Lagarde saved them by taking them into his home. He treated them well and provided forged papers and ration cards, with which he arranged permanent safe shelter for them. After staying with Lagarde for several days, Nelson Fumeau (q.v.), a member of the underground, helped the sisters find jobs. Thus, they were able to support themselves throughout the occupation. On May 3, 1984, Yad Vashem recognized Marcel Lagarde as Righteous Among the Nations.