Monday, August 9, 2010

Boston Marathon Jacket For Sale

P. 262. Death of a Fair: Harriet P. Pagès

.
Henriette Pages in 1945 (Arch. CFYV / DR).

Paul Schaffer:
"Ms. Pages, Righteous Among the Nations
was a star ..." (1)

The French Committee for Yad Vashem honors the memory of a just, Henriette Pagès who is 18 years, prepared many true-false identity cards for Jewish refugees in Prades, in the Tarn. Just saved this active Epstein family and especially her friend Esther.

With the participation of the French Committee, sound archives have been recorded by Radio France. Here is a condensed memories of Harriet Pages.

Question:
"Can you tell the story of the Epstein family since the beginning of the war?"

Answer:
"I think the first time they had gone to Montpellier, in Montpellier and there was also a raid very important ...
They tried to find a quieter place, quieter than Montpellier. A friend told him the department of Tarn. While there, by coincidence, it arrived in my village was a tiny village in Prades, there are a dozen houses, and that's all there was just a house for rent.
Esther asked if she could rent this house, the owners were in Paris when he was told that yes, there were no problems.
I was 18, Esther had to be 21, his brother about my age, I had my brother who also had twenty years time. Among young people, we sympathize. But we did not know they were there early for personal reasons ... And then of course anyway, it has acquired friendship and they told us they were there because Jews were hunted down.

My father was mayor, and I did the Secretariat of the Town Hall.
Miss E still wanted to resume his studies dentist but did not want to Lyon as it was of Jewish origin! Then she told me
- Henrietta, make me an ID card, send me your ID card .
That's what I did. That I sent him an identity card with my name, my date of birth and everything, and she enrolled at Lyon. "

Q.:" There came a problem at a time? She was arrested? "

R.:" On February 3, 1944 ...
There is a raid in the amphitheater of the Faculty of Lyon, and 20 young women who were interviewed, she was the only one who can leave with my name "Henrietta Pagès ."

Q: "Your father was mayor of the village?"

R. : "Yes. It was mayor of the village blacksmith.
One day a colleague of his Puy Laurent was part of the militia, just when the father of Esther returned to my parents ... When he was gone, my father's colleague told him:
- " this is a Jew you are! "
My father
- " Well, what does it say you can do that, try to terminate it ... that I do more you again. "
He left and he has never complained. This time, it was just, yeah, yeah. "

Q. : "When you were a town clerk ... you were making identity cards for Jews?"

R. : "Yes, I worked as secretary to the mayor and I was making fake ID cards without my father was mayor, aware. ... That
I was doing the same for both those who would not from the STO. I changed their date of birth. I recognize that at 18 I was a little crazy ... but I was not afraid to help. I know many young people in the village ... we had the heart to render service.
We did that and I do not really regret it.
So all those I made for the Jews? I do not even know. Esther's parents told me:
- " you know Harriet, it would make a fake card "
then I made a fake card.
I looked, I went on the war memorial at or near Prades, I was looking for names of those who died in 14/18 and I was making fake ID cards with their names ... "( 2)

The Fair Henrietta Pages in 2005 (Arch. CFYV / DR).

NOTES:

(1) Telegram from Paul Schaffer, president of the French Committee for Yad Vashem, the family of the deceased:
- " Ms. Pages, Righteous Among the Nations was a bright star lighting up the dark nights of distress .

(2) First European corpus of sound archives on the Righteous. Transcription by Corinne Melloul, French Committee for Yad Vashem.

.