Langlais Armandine (Avice)

Langlais, Armandine Charpentier, André Charpentier, Renée Gersh and Jenta Pelta moved to Paris with their daughter Lisa (b. 1919). Their son Elie was born in Paris in 1921, and Edith was born in 1928. Armandine Langlais, a clothes designer, lived in the same building as the Peltas, and they soon became good friends. After the round-ups of July 1942, the danger for Jews in Paris increased greatly, and the Peltas began to fear for their lives. Elie left for Lyon in December 1942. Seeing her friends in distress, Armandine offered to take the rest of the family into her own home. In 1944, she gave shelter to Lisa and Edith, and their parents soon joined them. Armandine gave her room to the Peltas, and moved into the living room. On the night of February 4, 1944, the police came for the Peltas, but found their apartment empty. At that point, Armandine decided it would be safer for the Peltas to leave Paris. She owned a house in Athis-Mons (Essonne), next door to her sister and her brother-in-law, André and Renée Charpentier. Gersh and Jenta Pelta stayed at Armandine’s house, while Edith was welcomed in by the Charpentiers, who were also taking care of Armandine’s 11-year-old granddaughter Andrée. Lisa stayed in Paris with relatives. She found work, and from time to time came to Athis-Mons to give the family food ration cards, despite the danger of traveling alone. André and Renée Charpentier loved Edith as their own child. They grew vegetables and fruits in the garden, which helped supplement their meager food rations. Every day, the Peltas were invited to the Charpentiers to eat. Edith soon befriended Andrée, and played with her a lot. Their friendship has lasted until today. The Charpentiers cared for Edith and her parents until the end of the war. After liberation, Armandine offered her rented house in Paris to the Peltas, while she moved to her home in Athis-Mons. The compassionate acts of Armandine Langlais, as well as André andRenée Charpentier, were performed at great risk and entirely at their own expense, out of pure compassion for others in need. The two families remain very close; Andrée Charpentier was a witness at Edith Pelta’s wedding. On April 28, 2010, Yad Vashem recognized Armandine Langlais along with André and Renée Charpentier as Righteous Among the Nations.