Cozzolino Sauveur

Cozzolino, Sauveur Sauveur Cozzolino, born in 1898, was a master tailor of military garments in Pau (Pyrénées Atlantiques), and a Knight of the Legion of Honor. Pau, which was near the border, was a usual crossing point for fugitives heading to Spain. Sauveur Cozzolino and his son Louis helped many Jews and non-Jews by lodging them before they attempted to the crossing. Roger Hausfater, born in 1924, was the son of a Romanian émigré who had been decorated with the Medaille Militaire in 1927 and the Legion of Honor in 1937. In June 1942, Roger was obliged to wear the yellow star at the Lycée Jeanson de Sailly. However, on July 14, 1942, he and his older sister crossed the partition line to join their mother’s sister in Pau. Their parents were unaware of the danger and had remained in Paris. Roger found work, but toward the end of 1943 a neighbor went to tell him that the Germans had arrested his aunt and her daughter as well as his sister. His uncle, Markus Wolff, had managed to hide. In panic, Markus and Roger appealed to their neighbor and friend Sauveur Cozzolino, who took them in. Roger stayed there eight days, but his uncle remained until the Cozzolinos found him a secure hiding place elsewhere. They also accompanied him to his house to retrieve what was left. There was never a mention of financial compensation. Another daughter of Markus Wolff who survived, affirmed the courage of this family who acted this way on patriotic and humanitarian grounds, despite the obvious risk involved. The other members of the Wolff family were deported to Auschwitz and murdered there. On January 18, 2004, Yad Vashem recognized Sauveur Cozzolino as Righteous Among the Nations.