Amphoux Marius & Marie-Jeanne

Amphoux, Marius Amphoux, Marie-Jeanne File 8334 Marius and Marie-Jeanne Amphoux owned a café in Marseilles that was shut down by the authorities during the occupation. Amphoux and his wife lived in an apartment over the café and had a storeroom next to their apartment that they used for business activity. In 1941, they leased the storeroom to Max and Adolphe Scher, Jewish brothers who lived in the Vieux-Port district of Marseilles. On January 23, 1943, Odette Scher, the brothers’ thirteen-year-old sister, left for school as usual. When she returned home, she found that it and all the houses in the neighborhood had been emptied of their tenants and that German forces and French police were patrolling the streets. The Jews had been evicted with no prior notice, and within two days, the entire neighborhood was destroyed. Many of the evictees, including all the Jews, were transferred to the Frejus camp and to prisons. Odette’s parents and her cousin, Rebecca Sendyk, were interned at Frejus. Odette’s father was removed from Frejus to Drancy and thence to Auschwitz, never to return. Since her home had been destroyed, Odette took refuge with her brothers, Max and Adolphe, who delivered her to the Amphoux. They took her in and agreed to hide her. Odette’s mother, Feiga Scher, underwent surgery and, after being discharged from the hospital, moved in with the Amphoux. Her niece, Rebecca Sendyk moved in, too. With the assistance of the Amphoux, the Scher brothers found a place for their family in Romollon (Hautes-Alpes). Because of Feiga’s precarious state of health, Marie-Jeanne Amphoux decided to escort her to the countryside. On their way, police who conducted an inspection at the train station arrested Feiga, and since Marie-Jeanne refused to part with her, both women were taken to the police station. Speaking with aplomb and extraordinary courage, Marie-Jeanne managed to have Feiga released. Feiga eventually reached Romollon, where the Schers stayed in hidinguntil the liberation. After the war, they maintained a strong friendship with the Amphoux for the rest of their rescuers’ lives. On December 31, 1998, Yad Vashem recognized Marius and Marie-Jeanne Amphoux as Righteous Among the Nations.