Pézeril Daniel

Pézeril, Monsignor Daniel File 5087 During the war, Daniel Pézeril, a young priest in a church in Paris, used his status and position to provide Jews with baptismal certificates, which attested “indisputably” to their bearers’ membership in the Christian faith. In this way, Pézeril saved at least a hundred Jews who were utter strangers to him. He entered a nonexistent parish name on each certificate, thus dooming to failure any search for these “Christians” in parish records. Had his actions been discovered, he would have been imprisoned or possibly deported. In addition, Pézeril hid a Jewish woman in his home, ostensibly as his housekeeper, while her husband passed for her assistant. The two did not wear the yellow star. The priest’s protection sufficed to avert suspicion. On September 11, 1994, Yad Vashem recognized Monsignor Daniel Pézeril as Righteous Among the Nations.