Haviland Paul

Haviland, Paul Georges-Gabriel Picard was an 82-year-old Jewish painter and an officer of the Légion d’honneur, who retired to live in Obernai (Alsace). He had connections with prominent figures in the French art world and industry, including the famous glass artist René Lalique and the husband of Lalique’s daughter, Paul Haviland, owner of the renowned Haviland china factory in Limoges. It was Picard who in 1895 had secured for Lalique a place at the famous Paris art exhibition to display his unique works in glass and jewelry. In July 1940 Picard wrote to his friend Haviland from Lyon. He and 18 other Jewish families had been cruelly evicted from Obernai by the Gestapo, and Picard wrote to Haviland at his residence in Yzeures-sur-Creuse (Indre-et-Loire) telling him of his troubles. The answer came immediately by telegram: “Come to La Mothe as soon as possible. Stop. Letter to follow. Affectionately. Paul Haviland”. After a number of letters back and forth, Picard finally reached Yzeures-sur-Creuse in January 1941, and was immediately welcomed as a member of the family, cared for lovingly by the Havilands even after the Germans occupied the region and their lives were placed at great risk for harboring a Jew. The Havilands' daughter Nicole Maric visited her father in 1942 after an extended stay in Paris with her mother Suzanne and grandfather René, and later recalled the warm relationship between Picard and her father. Picard remained at Yzeures-sur-Creuse until his death of a heart attack in 1943. On February 20, 2006 Yad Vashem recognized Paul Haviland as Righteous Among the Nations.