Arbez Max

Arbez, Max Leo and Beila Lande, originally from Germany settled in Holland in 1933 with their daughter Nina (b. 1927). Their son Alexandre was born in 1936. In November 1941 the family fled form Holland, leaving all of their belongings behind and taking only some money and jewelry. With the help of smugglers they arrived first in Belgium, and then later came to France. Their plan was to cross the border into Switzerland and to emigrate from there to the United States. While they were staying at a hotel in Besançon (Doubs) the owner of the hotel, Max Devaux, proposed to take the Lande family to the village of Le Barboux, not far from the Doubs River, where it was easier to cross into Switzerland. On December 17, 1941 Devaux made sure that the Landes arrived safely in Le Barboux. Upon their arrival, Devaux's wife Lucienne took in Beila and her daughter Nina, while Leo and Alexandre stayed with Constant and Marie Rondot, friends of Max's. The following day Constant and his friend, Pierre Rehany, drove the four members of the Lande family to a specific spot along the river, where they could safely cross over the border. Rehany helped them cross, and the returned to the French side. But the Lande family's troubles were not over. They lost their way and were caught by the Swiss police on December 20, and were sent back to France. They had no choice but to go back to Lucienne Devaux and the Rondot family. It was decided to try and smuggle the Landes to the south of France, which was still free at the time. On December 22 Lucienne’s brother, Max Arbez, picked the Landes and drove them to Pontarlier, where he spent the night with them at a local hotel. The next morning Arbez accompanied the Landes on the train to Morez (Jura). On Christmas Eve 1941 Max Arbez guided Leo, Beila, Nina and little Alexander on their perilous journey across the mountains to a border-crossing point where he knew control was relatively lax. There he smuggled them across the demarcationline, where he arranged for his friend Claudius Chavassus to wait for them. Chavassus then took them to a safe place in a small town called Lamoura, and from there the Landes took the bus to Saint-Claude. On December 27 Max Arbez met them again, and accompanied them on another train ride to Lyon. All four members of the Lande family – Leo, Beila, Nina and Alexander – survived the war thanks to the courage and cooperation of Max Arbez and all those involved in their rescue. Arbez himself had taken an enormous risk by smuggling the Landes in an area full of policemen who were looking for refugees trying to cross the border illegally. On April 22, 2012, Yad Vashem recognized Max Arbez as Righteous Among the Nations.