Paillassou Irène ; Sister: Renée

Paillassou, Irène Paillassou, Renée File 2462 In the autumn of 1939, the Jewish organization OSE opened a children’s home in the village of Chabannes in the département of Creuse. In addition to the staff members, who looked after the children’s nutrition, safety, and health, Irène Paillassou, the elementary school principal and her sister Renée, a teacher in the school, gave the organization valuable assistance. Many of the pupils admitted to the school at the beginning of the 1939-40 academic year were from various countries and did not know French. Determined to educate them, Irène Paillassou persuaded the Ministry of Education to create a special class in French. The two sisters lavished tireless devotion upon the children, and by the end of the year, they were among the school’s best pupils. On the night of August 26, 1942, French policemen surrounded the children’s home, burst into the building, arrested some children and staff, and took them to the detention camp at Nexon. Mme Meiseles, the school nurse, a Jewish woman, was arrested and interned with the older children. Her husband, Dr. Meiseles, and the younger children fled to a nearby forest. Thanks to influential friends, Dr. Meiseles arranged the release of his wife and several children, but the gendarmes, who suspected this contrived release, began searching for the doctor and his wife. The Paillassou sisters helped Meiseles and his wife, first by hiding them in the school and afterward by supplying forged identity cards, through a friend in the municipality. The Paillassous took the Meiseles to a nearby village, and later Irène took them to Bédarrides, in the département of Vaucluse in southeastern France. The Meiseles hid in a mountain cabin for several weeks, and Irène brought them food, never asking for anything in return. Eventually, Dr. Meiseles joined the underground and fought in its ranks until the liberation. After the war, the Paillassou sisters and the Meiseles stayed close. Indeed,the sisters requested a transfer to the Paris area, where the Meiseles lived. On March 3, 1983, Yad Vashem recognized Irène and Renée Paillassou as Righteous Among the Nations.