Poirier Pierrette

Poirier, Pierrette Pierrette Poirier, known by the nom de guerre of Cathie, lived in Poitiers (Vienne). Poirier followed the dictates of her heart, which instructed her to help people in distress. Poirier assisted Rabbi Elie Bloch and Father Jean Fleury (q.v.), who worked resolutely and courageously to liberate Jewish children and young people from the camp in Poitiers. Poirier slipped across the demarcation line to bring two children to the unoccupied zone whom Father Fleury had rescued from the camp. She also issued forged papers that she distributed to Jews who wanted to go into hiding. As the summer of 1942 approached, she discovered that the regime suspected her and sought her arrest. She fled to Châteauroux, a city on the other side of the demarcation line. Here Poirier worked for the OSE, principally in its underground division, which placed Jewish children with non-Jewish families and institutions. According to the testimony of Georges Garel, who headed this division, Poirier looked after approximately one hundred Jewish children, arranging hiding places, visiting each child once a month, reimbursing host families and institutions for the children’s upkeep, and ensuring each child’s wellbeing. Poirier deprived herself of food and neglected her own health. Thus, Father Fleury and Germaine Ribière (q.v.) had to summon a social worker to take care of her after she fled from Poitiers. On March 27, 1979, Yad Vashem recognized Pierrette Poirier as Righteous Among the Nations.