Taquet Emile & Marie (Martens)

Taquet-Mertens, Marie Taquet, Emile Brack, Fernande Buyle, André Delvaux, Pierre-René Delvaux, Robert Filot, Yvon Fox, Jean-Marie Geeraerts, Anne-Marie Gendebien, Michel Georis, Paul Hardy, Jean Hardy, René Lemoine, Maurice Martin-Adam, Marthe Mertens, François Poncelet, Marie-Thérèse Schmitz, Léonard During the years 1942-1944, eighty-three Jewish boys between the ages of four and sixteen found shelter in a medieval castle, Château du Faing, located near the village of Jamoigne-sur-Semois, (west of Arlon/Aarlen) in the province of Luxembourg), which housed a boarding school for boys called Home Reine Elisabeth. The boarding school was headed by the Emile and Marie Taquet couple and had a devoted staff of young teachers and counselors who dedicated themselves to the boys in their charge. Their efforts were crowned with success and, at the risk of their own safety and personal freedom they managed to see the children through the Nazi threat. Some of the Jewish children had arrived there through the intercession of Father Joseph André*, in Namur/Namen, and Yvonne Nèvejean*, who headed the ONE. The Jewish activist, Ida Sterno, under the pseudonym of Mademoiselle Jeanne as well as her companion, Andrée Geulen*, also brought some children there, on behalf of the CDJ. All the children, Jewish and non-Jewish, were divided into small groups headed by a counselor, on the model of the Boy Scouts. The Jewish children, who each had been given a non-Jewish nom-de-guerre, were passed off as regular pupils: they attended mass in the village church with the other students and marched through the surrounding area with their counselors during afternoon activities. Major Emile Taquet, a retired army officer, was very active in the resistance movement. In addition to managing the Home, he was responsible for the entire region’s underground activities of the network with which he was involved. The supply of food and clothing for the school’s Jewish children washis responsibility. All through their hiding period – except for one month in the summer of 1944 - the children never suffered from hunger or want in any way and many remember their stay at the Home as a period of never-ending vacation. For one month in the summer of 1944, when the staff of the Home went on vacation, the Jewish children were more or less abandoned and, under the supervision of a Jewish counselor, had to take care of themselves. At the end of the month they returned to the Home. In September 1943, the Home was raided and searched by the Germans. Asked by the commanding officer whether there were Jews among the many children there, Marie Taquet calmly answered, “Why would you want Jewish children to be here? That would have been too risky.” The Germans left. Marie Taquet, née Mertens, was the heart and soul of the Home. Her maternal instincts embraced all the youngsters, whom she called her children. She identified with their fate, feeling their loneliness, and tried to compensate them for what they lacked in motherly care. She also assisted her husband in the ongoing effort to feed and clothe all the Jewish children. Jacques Funkleder, Joseph Kaminski, David Inowlocki and Abraham Kwiat, were among the former Jewish children in Jamoigne who gave testimony on their stay in that sheltering home. The children’s counselors included, Fernande Brack, André Buyle (taught handicrafts), Pierre-René Delvaux, Robert Delvaux (known as Robert Gabriel), Yvon Filot, Jean-Marie Fox (taught first and second grades), Anne-Marie Geeraerts, Michel Gendebien, Paul Géoris (taught third and fourth grades), Jean Hardy (taught fifth and sixth grades), René Hardy, Maurice Lemoine, Marthe Martin-Adam (kindergarten teacher), François Mertens, Marie-Thérèse Poncelet, and Léonard Schmitz (in charge of personnel, and also taught seventh, eighth, and ninth grades). Pierre-René Delvaux was known by the children as Pierre Milet (Monsieur Milet). He formed a choir in the Home andtaught it to sing in four different intonations. One of the favorite composers was Bach, which the children would sing on their outdoor walks. In March 1944, a counselor who accompanied the children to the church to celebrate mass was arrested in front of the chapel. By coincidence, Delvaux was to have performed this assignment on that particular day, but was replaced by someone else, and he thus escaped arrest. He never forgot that cruel twist of fate. On December 23, 1987, Yad Vashem recognized Marie Taquet-Mertens and Emile Taquet, and Fernande Brack, André Buyle, Pierre-René Delvaux, Robert Delvaux, Yvon Filot, Jean-Marie Fox, Anne-Marie Geeraerts, Michel Gendebien, Paul Géoris, Jean Hardy, René Hardy, Maurice Lemoine, Marthe Martin-Adam, François Mertens, Marie-Thérèse Poncelet and Leonard Schmitz, as Righteous Among the Nations.