Wasserfallen Edgard & Élise

Wasserfallen, Edgar Wasserfallen, Elise Edgar and Elise Wasserfallen and their two children lived in Lasalle (Gard) in France where Edgar was a pastor in the Reformed Church. When war was declared, the couple, who were of Swiss nationality, could have returned to their homeland, but decided to stay. Pastor Wasserfallen thought that, “… it was the only thing I could do. How could I have continued to live if I had not fulfilled my duty?” The couple saved many Jews who were being hunted down and also helped the Resistance. The Rojtenberg family, Jews from Reims who had sought refuge in Nîmes at the time of the debacle, owed Pastor Wasserfallen their lives. In 1942, with the situation for Jews worsened, Jacques Rojtenberg, 17, his younger brother Roger, 11, his two older brothers who were 21 and 18, as well as his parents, asked for help from CIMADE, a Protestant aid organization for refugees. The two older sons were sent to Chambon-sur-Lignon and from there to Switzerland. Jacques, Roger and their parents were sent to Florac (Lozère) and lodged with farmers, until they could no longer be kept there. Jacques left to look for help. In Lasalle, he asked to see the pastor, who had hung a sign on the door of the presbytery: “Here live Swiss citizens placed under the protection of the Swiss Embassy…”. Jacques explained his tragic situation to him. Pastor Wasserfallen and his wife Elise immediately took in Roger and his mother and accommodated them for four months. The pastor placed Jacques with a family in his parish, the Souliers*, where he was literally adopted as a son. His father was placed with cousins of the Souliers, and Roger was later accommodated by a Souliers daughter. Pastor Wasserfallen arranged for the mayor of Lasalle to have false papers made for the Rojtenbergs, and served as a “mailbox” for correspondence between the two older sons and their parents. In February 1944, following a denunciation, Jacques had to be quickly evacuated to the home of othermembers of the Soulier family. In spite of the serious risks involved, Pastor Wasserfallen personally accompanied him there by bus. On August 13, 2000, Yad Vashem recognized Edgar and Elise Wasserfallen as Righteous Among the Nations.