Bertrand Lucien & Agnès

Bertrand, Agnès Bertrand, Lucien File 235 Lucien and Agnès Bertrand and their three daughters lived in Lagrasse, a town in the département of Aude in the southern zone. The Bertrands owned a bakery. One of their customers was Paula Niger, a Jewish refugee who had rented a house in Lagrasse in 1944. Niger was sheltering Martin Tattmar, another Jewish refugee, in her attic. One day in May 1944, Niger visited the Bertrands’ bakery and, gripped with fear, told Agnès Bertrand of rumors that the Gestapo was about to search for Jews and underground activists. Niger asked Lucien Bertrand to find a refuge for her in a nearby village, explaining that she had already asked the local doctor and chief of police, who had refused. Agnès Bertrand, who was fond of Niger, promised to ask her husband and told Niger to return two hours later. After discussing the matter carefully, the Bertrands decided to offer Niger shelter in a small room over the bakery chimney in their home. When Niger returned, Lucien Bertrand presented his offer. Niger was moved to tears but at first refused the offer. She also needed an arrangement for Tattmar, the refugee in her attic, and she had no money left to pay the Bertrands for their kindness. Lucien Bertrand immediately extended his offer to include Tattmar. As for money, he wouldn’t think of taking any. He explained that rescuing Niger and her friend would be sufficient reward for him and his wife. Lucien only asked Niger to make every effort to keep the hiding place secret from everyone, including his own daughters. The bakery was always swarming with people and if the hiding place were discovered, his wife and daughters would be deported and he would be shot in the village square. Niger slipped into the Bertrands’ home late that night and some time later Tattmar, disguised as a woman, followed her. The Bertrands spared no effort to make their stay pleasant and treated them as family members. When the daughters began to sense thatsomething odd was going on at home, their parents decided to share the secret. The girls, aged seven to eleven, were told that, two people who were in danger because of the war, were being hidden in the house and that this secret must not be disclosed to family or friends. The girls understood the seriousness of this request and promised to cooperate. Niger and Tattmar spent several weeks with the Bertrands but returned to their own apartment when the Gestapo suddenly raided the bakery. The baker was arrested and tortured but refused to talk. He continued to send food parcels to Niger and Tattmar, brought by his daughters. He did so until Lagrasse was liberated. Niger and Tattmar, who married after the war and emigrated to the United States in 1953, stayed in touch with the Bertrands and remembered them as the “angels” who saved their lives. On July 29, 1968, Yad Vashem recognized Lucien and Agnès Bertrand as Righteous Among the Nations.