Cenou Fernand & Aurélie (Bournac)

Cenou, Fernand Cenou, Aurélie Jeanne Lévy lived with her family in Libourne (Gironde). Her husband had passed away in 1930, and she was left on her own with her four children: Louna (b.1906), Joseph (b. 1910), Elie (b. 1913) and Miriam (b. 1919). When World War II broke out Joseph was already married, and Louna had two young children: Eliane (b. 1937) and Frédéric (b. 1939). In July 1942 Miriam met a man by the name of Henri Daigueperse, and the two quickly fell in love. Henri, who realized the danger which the Lévy family faced, decided to help them cross over the demarcation line into a safer area. With his help, the Lévys successfully crossed the border and settled in the village of Bon Encontre. Then Louna, though contacts in the resistance, managed to find her family a hiding place with Fernand and Aurélie Cenou. The Cenous, who were in their 60’s, lived on the grounds of a farm in Boé (Lot-et-Garonne), where Fernand worked in a factory. They were perfectly aware of the Lévy's Jewish identity, but they nevertheless agreed to help and protect the entire family – none of which had any proper identity papers. They put up the 8 members of the family in three rooms on the side of the house facing the woods behind it; the Cenous occupied the rooms facing the main road, which ran from Agen to Toulouse. Fernand had installed a door connecting the Lévy's side of the house and his and his wife’s, in case there was any danger and they would have to run out into the corn fields surrounding the farm. A bell was also installed at the front door, so that Fernand could warn the Lévys if the need arose. The Lévy family remained with the Cenous until liberation. After the war the entire Lévy family returned to Libourne, but Jeanne and Louna, who became especially close with Aurélie, still kept in touch with their rescuer. They were ever grateful towards Fernand and Aurélie, who showed tremendous courage during the war. "Monsieur and Madame Cenou protected a Jewishfamily,” wrote Miriam to Yad Vashem many years later. “They knew exactly what a risk that was, and they did so because they believed it was their human duty.” On February 12, 2012, Yad Vashem recognized Fernand and Aurélie Cenou as Righteous Among the Nations.