Chemin Jacques & Maria (Cremoux)

Chemin, Jacques Chemin, Maria Jacques and Maria Chemin lived in Livry-Gargan (Seine-Saint-Denis) during the Occupation. A veteran of the 1914-1918 War, Jacques had been wounded four times. He had been a part of a front-line battalion whose mutinous soldiers had fraternized with the enemy to stop the war, and one man in 10 had been shot to set an example. His confidence in General Pétain, whom he blamed for the shootings, was forever shaken. His brother Charles had also fallen in combat. After being demobilized, Jacques became a craftsman of fancy goods and went to work for a factory that made haute-couture brooches and buttons in Saint-Viance (Corrèze). There, he married Maria and had two children, Charline and Robert. Under the Popular Front, Jacques played an active role in the unions’ protest movement. The Chemin family subsequently settled near Paris and took in a refugee from the Spanish Civil War during the retreat of the Republican forces. During this period, their son Robert formed a musical ensemble with Henri Wolkowitch, a 19-year-old Jew, and played in the municipal orchestra. Late in 1943, Henri, whose father had been arrested and deported “to the East”, found himself also threatened with arrest. He turned to his friend Robert, who asked his parents for help. The Chemins immediately agreed to take in Henri, who remained hidden in their home at their expense until the Liberation. The Chemins also gave shelter to one of his cousins, Betty Grobman, on an occasional basis. The Chemins’ commitment was in keeping with the family tradition of anarcho-syndicalism and patriotism. Henri and Betty escaped the roundups thanks to the Chemins’ generosity. In 1961, Jacques died from complications due to the wounds he had sustained in the Great War. On October 29, 2003, Yad Vashem recognized Jacques and Maria Chemin as Righteous Among the Nations.