Costa Jean-Baptiste & Marie-Jeanne (Isola)

Costa, Jean-Baptiste Costa, Marie-Jeanne Jean Baptiste Costa was an inspector for a maritime shipping company in the port of Marseille. He lived with his wife Marie-Jeanne and daughter Marie-Thérèse in a villa in the village of Allauch, on the outskirts of Marseille. During summer vacations, Costa rented the ground floor of his villa to the Jewish Fresco and Misrahi families, owners of an underwear store in Marseille. Jacques Fresco was born in Istanbul, Turkey, and arrived in France in the 1920s. He married Turkish-born Laure Oro Misrahi, and their son Robert was born in 1936. Misrahi's parents, Rachel and Haim Misrahi, also immigrated to France from Istanbul, along with their children, Laure, Rosette, Emile and Moïse. In 1936, Moïse married Claire Zavaro; their son Jean Robert was born in 1939. On January 23, 1943, during a large-scale raid carried out against the Jews of Marseille, Jacques Fresco, Haim Misrahi and his sons, Emile and Moïse, were arrested and deported. Both Robert Fresco, 7, and Jean Robert Misrahi, 4, were ill at the time, and the police allowed their mothers to remain behind to nurse them. The women immediately took the boys, along with their grandmother Rachel, to seek refuge at the Costas. They were given a warm welcome, and invited to stay as long as they wished. The next day, some of the family’s merchandise was delivered for storage at the Costas’ villa. Not long afterwards, however, a worried Laure decided to take her son to board with farmers in a village in Drôme. Upon her return, four armed men arrived at the villa to steal the merchandise, while Costa was on duty at the port. Following this incident, the Jewish refugees decided to find asylum elsewhere, but remained forever grateful to the Costas for offering them food and shelter at great risk to their own lives. On October 19, 2009, Yad Vashem recognized Jean-Baptiste and Marie-Jeanne Costa as Righteous Among the Nations.