Lambrechts Max & Jeanne (Vercheval)

Lambrechts, Max Hubert Lambrechts-Vercheval, Jeanne Sidonie Marie Vercheval, François Vercheval, Georges Vercheval-Knops, Josephine Jeanne Lambrechts was an active member of the resistance movement (Service “D” and FI) in the region of Aywaille, Liége province. She dedicated a large part of her efforts to find hiding addresses for Jews who were referred to her, and also provided ration cards for them. In September 1942, Sigi Feig of Antwerp was put in touch with Jeanne. Even though Jeanne was heavily involved in resistance activities, and hiding Jews in her own home would have added to the danger, she and her husband Max, took him in. However, after five months, his presence with them was considered too dangerous, and Sigi was moved to Jeanne’s brother Georges Vercheval, who was living in the nearby town of Sprimont. Sigi had also sought help from Jeanne for his sister-in-law Régine Feig (née Odze) and her infant son Marcel. For them she found shelter with her brother François Vercheval. While there, Jeanne brought them food stamps. Jeanne also found a hiding address for the Goldsteins, also relatives of the Feigs and the Halevy-Klein family, from Antwerp, whom she placed in premises belonging to the Vercheval family in the village of Alpage. In all these undertakings, she had acted out of human compassion, and a sense of duty to rescue those in mortal danger, not considering her own safety. In the course of 1943, Jeanne Lambrechts was betrayed and had to go into hiding. After the war, Jeanne was awarded a number of decorations, among them the Leopold II Order with Golden Rays; the François War Cross with Palms; Lieutenant in the Resistance, “D” Section, and a certificate of honor by the Belgian Jewish community. On June 2, 1993, Yad Vashem recognized Max Lambrechts and his wife Jeanne Lambrechts-Vercheval as well as her brothers, François Vercheval, and Georges Vercheval and his wife Josephine Vercheval-Knops as Righteous Among the Nations.