Trocmé André & Magda

Trocmé, Pastor André Trocmé, Magda File 612 In the early 1930s, when Charles Guillon*, pastor of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon, in the département of Haute-Loire, was elected mayor of the town, André Trocmé took over as pastor of the congregation. On June 23, 1940, after the armistice, Trocmé and his colleague, Edward Theis*, urged his congregants to resist using “the weapons of the spirit.” In so doing, they followed in the footsteps of Guillon. This policy and the high-mindedness of many congregants made Le Chambon and the surrounding villages a unique refuge in France, where many hundreds of Jews, children and entire families, survived the war. Magda, Trocmé’s wife, was actively involved in creating and maintaining this haven. With others, she located families willing to accommodate Jewish refugees and prepared the town’s many boarding schools for increased enrollment. Reverends Trocmé and Theis vigorously encouraged all these endeavors, which frustrated the regime’s anti-Jewish policies. Neither pressure from the authorities nor searches by security agents diminished the resolve of the Trocmés and their team, and their activity did not cease. On August 15, 1942, Trocmé vehemently articulated his opinions to Georges Lamirand, the Vichy Minister for Youth, on an official visit to the town. Several days later, gendarmes moved into Le Chambon to “purge” the town of its foregin alien residents. On August 30, the suspense peaked. Rumor had it that the pastor was about to be arrested. In his overflowing church, Trocmé urged the congregants to “do the will of God, not of men” and stressed the importance of fulfilling the commandment in Deuteronomy 19:2-10 concerning sheltering the persecuted. There were no arrests that day, and the gendarmes were withdrawn from the town several days later, their mission an utter failure. In February 1943, Trocmé and two colleagues, Reverend Edouard Theis and the teacher Roger Darcissac*, were arrested and interned at the Saint-Pauld’Eyjeaux camp near Limoges. They were held for three weeks, while the camp commander tried to pressure the pastors to sign a commitment to obey, but they did not succumb to the pressure. Upon their release, Theis joined the CIMADE and participated in the escape network to Switzerland. Trocmé, who was not in the best of health, joined the underground, and was able to keep the safe haven in Le Chambon and its vicinity operating smoothly. On January 5, 1971, Yad Vashem recognized the Reverend André Trocmé and on May 14, 1984 his wife, Magda, as Righteous Among the Nations.