Faye Per

Per Faye-Hansen When the arrests of Jews in Oslo began in October 1942, Gabriel Stiris, a medical student, decided to go into hiding. He was helped by one of his lecturers, who had him hospitalized as an ulcer patient. Gabriel soon discovered that the doctor was a member of the local resistance movement. A few days later, Gabriel was picked up from the hospital by Per Faye Hansen, who took him to a temporary hiding place in a flower shop in Majorstuen, where Gabriel met other Jews who were seeking refuge. Per Faye Hansen meticulously arranged the escape of this group of Jews to Sweden with the utmost secrecy. They were transferred to Asker, outside Oslo, in lorries, and hid there in a house that belonged to the underground. They were then taken to several other hiding places, until they reached the Swedish border. Per Faye Hansen found hiding places for many Jews, and was responsible for planning and organizing the escape of tens of Jews. In her testimony to Yad Vashem, Per’s daughter – Gro Weneske – relates an event that marked her family. On one occasion, her late father told a group of Jews that were waiting to be smuggled across the border into Sweden that that they would not be able to escape that evening. He then heard an elderly Jew say: “Thank you so much, Lord, for not making me flee on the Sabbath.” Faye-Hansen was deeply impressed with this Jew’s devotion. On 11 March 2007, Yad Vashem recognized Per Faye Hansen as Righteous Among the Nations. On 3 June 2007 Gro Weneske Faye-Hensen, who resides in Israel, received the medal and certificate on behalf of her late father.