Baylac Fredebert

Baylac, Dr. Frédebert Bella Wieder (b. 1899, Siget, Romania) and his wife, Gisélla (née Tannenbaum, b. 1907, Budapest), immigrated to France as a young couple in 1924, settling in Strasbourg. In September 1939 they and their two sons, Roland (b. 1932) and Marcel (b. 1933), were expelled from the town. They chose to settle in Périgueux, where they lived in relative freedom until the Germans occupied Free France in 1942. To save their children, they sent their sons to a Catholic institution, St. Jean, under the assumed name of Dupuy. The head of this institution, Alexandre Berbonde, and his wife (who was recognized as Righteous Among the Nations in 2004 ) Meanwhile, Bella and Gisélla went from hiding place to hiding place to stay alive. To complicate matters further, in June 1943 Gisélla discovered she was pregnant. They decided to place their trust in Dr. Frédebert Baylac, a local gynecologist. Dr. Baylac arranged for Gisélla, using the assumed surname “Bernard,” to stay at a shelter for “problematic” expectant mothers, adjacent to the maternity ward he headed. In addition he arranged for Bella to work at the shelter as a janitor. This arrangement provided Bella with room and board, and just as important, allowed him to periodically visit his wife. On March 24, 1944, Gisélla gave birth to their third son, Jean-Claude. Gisélla, Bella, and Jean-Claude remained under Dr. Baylac’s care until the end of the war. Their elder two sons survived as well. On January 14, 2012, Dr. Frédebert Baylac was recognized by Yad Vashem as Righteous Among the Nations.