Schwarz Georgette

Schwarz, Georgette Georgette Schwarz was the secretary of Father Theomir Devaux*, head of a Catholic rescue network in Paris that facilitated the rescue of hundreds of Jewish children. Schwarz was born to Jewish parents, Romanian refugees in France, but converted to Catholicism as a young adult. Her parents were friends of the Vigder family; M. Vigder was also from Romania. In November 1943, seven-year-old Clairette Vigder and her two-year-old brother Isidore were living in a children’s home on rue Lamarck, under the auspices of a Jewish welfare organization (UGIF). Fearing that the children would be deported, their mother turned to Georgette’s parents for advice. Georgette took the children to Father Devaux’s monastery as a temporary refuge until a more permanent hiding place could be found for them. They were warmly welcomed, and the next morning they were sent with another messenger to Bonnétable (Sarthe), to live with a widow and her married daughter. After the war, Clairette Vigder learned that Georgette Schwarz returned to rue Lamarck many times, at the behest of Father Devaux, to accompany Jewish children to safer hideouts outside of Paris. On June 16, 2009, Yad Vashem recognized Georgette Schwarz as Righteous Among the Nation.