de Pierrebourg Olivier

De Pierrebourg, Baron Olivier File 2267 In 1941, Baron Olivier de Pierrebourg, with the assistance of his wife, Françoise de Cellery d’Allens (q.v.), established L’Amitié Chrétienne, a refugee relief association in Lyons, in the unoccupied zone. Under the cover of this organization, de Pierrebourg helped many persecuted people escape the Germans, including Jewish refugees and members of the underground. He also provided forged papers, prepared escape routes, gathered intelligence, created a distribution system for underground newspapers and raised funds to have the newspapers printed. On August 21, 1942, Baron de Pierrebourg forwarded an urgent warning to his friends, the Silvermans, who were Austrian Jewish refugees, that they faced deportation to Germany. They fled their home that day, without taking anything with them, and spent several days hiding with a friend. On September 12, the Baron furnished them with forged identification papers and escorted them in the direction of Lake Geneva, where they planned to cross into Switzerland on a French fishing boat that he had procured. The attempted escape failed, and the Silvermans returned to the Baron’s home in Lyons, where, at great risk to all, they hid in one room for ten days, sleeping on mattresses. On September 23, they escaped by train to a location near the town of Chamonix, travelling with other refugees who did not know each other. During the trip, German police and French gendarmes boarded the train, searched for potential escapees, and arrested several people. Had the Silvermans been arrested, too, there was a risk that the baron might have been implicated. In May 1943, Baron de Pierrebourg set out for Algiers via Spain, but was arrested by the Germans and incarcerated in a camp at Compiègne. He was deported to the east but on September 18, he jumped from the train, which was already in Germany, and he returned safely to France. On May 3, 1982, Yad Vashem recognized Baron Olivier de Pierrebourgas Righteous Among the Nations.