Cailac Gabriel & Sara (Mourin)

Cailac, Gabriel Cailac, Sara In 1941, Polish-born immigrants David and Liba Natanson were sent from Paris to work as farm laborers in the nearby village of Bulson, under the supervision of the Germans. The living conditions were very difficult, and when rumors circulated that the Jews there were to be deported, the Natansons decided to look for a shelter for their six-year-old daughter, Raymonde. They approached a member of the underground for help, and he contacted Gabriel and Sara Cailac. The Cailacs lived in La Besace (Ardennes) with their daughter Eveline. Sara owned a café frequented by the Germans, and Gabriel owned an agricultural supply business, which enabled him to travel from village to village to deliver his products to farmers. Through their business contacts, both Gabriel and Sara were able to gather important information for the French Resistance. On one of his visits to Bulson in October 1942, Gabriel put Raymonde into his truck and took her to his house. The couple introduced the little girl to customers and German soldiers as a relative from Paris, where food had become scarce. While living in the Cailac home, Raymonde went to the local school, and attended church with her “family.” One day, a German in the café asked Raymonde her name, and she mistakenly gave her real name. Luckily, the soldier did not react, and the incident passed without repercussion. The Cailacs continued to look after their young charge until her uncle came to fetch her after the war. It was then that she learned that her parents had been arrested and deported to Auschwitz, where they were murdered. Raymonde lived with her uncle and aunt in Paris until she eventually married Philip Fiol and moved to the United States. On April 14, 2010, Yad Vashem recognized Gabriel and Sara Cailac as Righteous Among the Nations.