Difference between revisions of "Category:Chateau de La Hille (subject)"

Chateau de La Hille (see Holocaust Children Studies)

• Hidden Children : Le Chambon-sur-Lignon

Overview

• See Die Kinder des Schloss La Hille

1st stage: Belgium, the Home General Bernheim for girls and the Home Speyer for boys

In the year preceding the outbreak of World War II, as a result of the persecution of Jews during the so-called "Kristallnacht" in November 1938, nearly 1000 Jewish children from Germany and Austria between the ages of 4 and 17 found refuge in Belgium. Some came individually, others illegally, and some on an organized transport which gathered the children from Cologne. The rescue effort was organized by the Comite d'Assistance aux Enfants Juifs Refugies (CAEJR), an organization founded by Madame Goldschmidt-Brodsky, whose husband, Alfred, was an official of the Belgian Red Cross.

Most of the children were sheltered in private homes, and about 80 in two large children's homes. The girls' home, known as the Home General Bernheim, was located in the Brussels suburb of Zuen, and the boys' home, called Home Speyer, in the suburb of Anderlecht.

2nd stage: The flight to France, Seyre

When the German army invaded Belgium in May 1940, the approximately 100 children aged 5 to 16 years were able to escape at the last minute on a freight train, thanks to the intervention of the director of the girls' home.

After a week traveling through France along with thousands of other refugees from the North, the children arrived in the hamlet of Seyre, near to Nailloux in the department of Haute Garonne, and were lodged in a large barn belonging to the farm of the Chateau de Seyre. There was no furniture or beds and little to eat. The winter of 1940 was very harsh and there was much illness and suffering. Fortunately, the Secours Suisse aux Enfants, a sub-sector of the Red Cross of Switzerland, agreed to provision the young refugees' camp and began to supply clothing and basic needs.

3rd stage: The Chateau de la Hille

The following spring this Swiss organization, directed by Mr. Maurice Dubois, arranged the transfer of the camp to the Chateau de La Hille near Pamiers in Ariège, close to the Spanish border. At the time it was a very neglected building and in Febraury 1941 the older boys set to work digging wells and latrines to make the old chateau habitable. Elka and Alexander Frank followed with the younger children a few months later. Shortly after the move, Roesli Naef assumed the directorship of the home.

During the summer of 1941, twenty of the younger La Hille children were able to leave for the United States through the efforts of the US Committee for the Care of European Children assisted by the AFSC (American Friends Service Committee, Quakers). Two other teenagers also immigrated to the US that summer thanks to the intervention of relatives in America.

4rd stage: Hiding

In August 1942, by order of the Nazis all the boys and girls over 15 years of age, about 40 in all, were arrested by the gendarmerie and deported to the camp Le Vernet near to Pamiers. Most of the internees at Le Vernet were transported to the north and to Auschwitz. Only the 40 children from La Hille were saved by the intervention of the Swiss director of La Hille, Mlle. Roesli Naef. Naef immediately contacted Maurice Dubois, who went to see Rene Bousquet, the authorities in Vichy to demand the release of the children. When Dubois threatened to close all the Swiss camps in France, Vichy agreed to free the La Hille youth.

As soon as the children were returned to La Hille, Mlle. Naef immediately began organizing the (illegal) flight of the older girls and boys over the Pyrenees to Spain and the Alps to Switzerland in order to save them. At the same time, other older children found work and shelter with farmers in the region. Twelve or so teenagers joined the Resistance (one of them, Egon Berlin, age 16, was killed in combat in the area). A dozen of the young people were caught during their attempts to flee from La Hille and were killed at Auschwitz. One, Werner Epstein, survived Auschwitz and a death march.

During the final year of the war, a number of French and Spanish refugee children also came to live at the La Hille home.

Yad Vashem later recognized both Maurice Dubois and Roesli Naef as Righteous Among the Nations: Dubois in 1985 and Naef in 1989.

Thanks to the efforts of their Swiss and French protectors, and especially to their "débrouillard" spirit, more than 80 of the 93 girls and boys survived the war and settled all over the world. At least 55 of them are still alive and have reunited several times in Israel, France and the US. The last reunion took place in Toulouse and at the sites of the former camps in Ariège and the Haute Garonne on Sept. 15-19, 2000. At that time, a memorial to the children of la Hille, situated at the entrance to the chateau grounds, was inaugurated.

– Walter Bernstein (one of the children who lived at the chateau, now living in the USA)

The Children

Group portrait of Jewish refugee children at the Secours Suisse children's home at Chateau La Hille. Pictured in front is Norbert Winter. First row right to left: Kurt Klein, Joseph Dortort (1928), Max Krolik (1928), Egon Berlin (1928), Luzian Wolfgang (1925) and Gerard Kwaczkowski (1926). Middle row (right to left) Edith Moser (1924), Ilse Wulff (1925), Inge Helft (1926), Margot Kern (1926), Rita Leistner (1925), Frieda Steinberg (1924), Lixie Grabkowicz (1924), Else Rosenblatt (1925), and Arie Grossmann. Back row: Kurt Moser (1922), Ernst Schlesinger, Irma Seelenfreund, Edgar Chaim, Helga Klein (1925), Leo Lewin (1925), Ruth Herz (1922), Manfred Kemlet, Rosemarie Cosmann, Emil Dortort (1924), Inge Schragenheim (1924), Hans Garfunkel (1924), Max Schaechtele, Bertrand Elkan (1922), Addi Nussbaum (1925), and M. Palau.

Went as refugees to the United States before the Summer 1942

On Board of SS Mouzinho (June 1941)

1. Rosalie Blau / Rosalie Johnson (F / Germany, 1931-2010), Holocaust survivor (SS Mouzinho June)
2. Bernhard Eisler (1928) P (SS Mouzinho June)
3. Karla Flanter (1929) D (SS Mouzinho June)
4. Lore Flanter (1934) D Laura (SS Mouzinho June)
5. Herbert Kammer(1931) A (SS Mouzinho June)
6. Gerd Obersitsker (1925) D Gert-Arno Obersitsker (SS Mouzinho June)
7. Jules Steinhardt (M / Germany, 1930) (SS Mouzinho June)
8. Kurt Steinhardt (M / Germany, 1932) (SS Mouzinho June)
9. Klaus Sostheim (1926) D (SS Mouzinho June)

On Board of [[SS Serpa Pinto (September 1941)

1. Joseph Findling (1928)D
2. Martin Findling (1932) D
3. Siegfried Findling (1930) D
4. Max Krolik (1928) P (picture)
5. Rosa Krolik (1933) Rosette P (picture)
6. Rolf Weinmann (1931) D

On Board of other ships

1. Gerhard Eckmann (1929) D Gérard Eckann
2. Arthur Kantor (1926) A
3. Eva Kantor (1928) A
4. Werner Rindsberg (1924) D
5. Hanni Schlimmer (1926) D
6. Antoinette Steuer (1936) P
7. Willy Wolpert (1930) D

These children reached legally the United States thru Spain and Portugal. At least 9 children were aboard the SS Mouzinho (leaving Lisbon on June 10, 1941, reaching New York on June 21, 1941). See Film.

Crossed the Pyrenees to Spain in the Winter 1942-43

1. Inge Berlin (1923), Koblenz (D)
2. Luzian Wolfgang (1925), Wien (A)
3. Norbert Stückler (1925), Wien (A)

with the teacher Monsieur A. Frank.

Crossed the Alps to Switzerland in the Winter 1942-43

1. Hans Garfunkel (1924), Königsberg (D)
2. Helga Klein (1925), Mannheim (D)
3. Ruth Klonover (1924), Dortmund (D)
4. Margot Klonover, Dortmund (D)
5. Leo Lewin (1925), Falkenberg (D)
6. Lotte Nussbaum, Rheydt (D)
7. Betty Schütz (1930), Berlin (D)
8. Margot Kern (1926), Aschersleben (D)
9. Regina Rosenblatt (1927), Langendreer (D)
10. Jacques Roth (1925), Sterkrade (P)
11. Peter Salz (1926), Berlin (D)
12. Else Rosenblatt (1925), Langendreer (D)
13. Ilse Wulf (1925), Stettin (P)

Crossed the border in the Winter 43-44

1. Inge Bernhard (1928)
2. Toni Rosenblatt (1931)

with the teacher: Gret Tobler

Crossed the border with Switzerland

1. Edith Goldapper (1924), Wien (A)
2. Walter Kammerer (1922), Berlin (D)
3. Manfred Kammerer (1925), Berlin (D)
4. Edith Moser (1924), Hannover (D)
5. Addi Nussbaum (1925), Rheydt (D)
6. Paul Schlesinger (1929), with his mother Flora, Wien (A)
7. Inge Schragenheim (1924), Wien (A)

(with the help of Victoria and Madeleine Cordier)

Arrested at the border with Switzerland

Arrested at the border with Switzerland

1. Inge Helft (1926), Wurzen (D); deported
2. Adele Hochberger (1926), Berlin (D); deported
3. Manfred Vos (1924), Köln (D); deported

Arrested by the French Police in March 1943

1. Emil Dortort (1924), deported
2. Bertrand Elkan (1922), Camp de Gurs, deported
3. Walter Strauss (1925), Camp de Gurs, deported

Arrested at the border with Spain

1. Carl Blumenfeld (Poland, 1924), deported <perished>
2. Werner Epstein (Germany, 1923), deported <survived>
3. Kurt Moser (1922), deported <perished>
4. Fritz Wertheimer, deported <perished>

• Inge Joseph (1925), Darmstadt (D); dritter Grenzübertritt glückte!

Failed attempt to cross the border. Returned to the Castle

• Walter Strauss (1925), Duisburg (D); Rückkehr ins Schloss
• Carl Blumenfeld (1924), Wroclaw (P)
• Bertrand Elkan (1922)
• Little Kurt (Onze), (1925), Maltersburg (D)
• Kurt Moser (1922), Hanover (D)
• Addi Nussbaum Adolf (1925), Rheydt (D)
• Ruedi Oelbaum (1927), Berlin (D)
• Inge Schragenheim (1924), Cologne (D)

Hidden in France

In various locations

1. Grabkovicz Lixie (1924), Wien (A); Hausangestellte in Grenoble
2. Herz Ruth (1922); Aushilfe, Colonie Suisse, Praz s. Arly
3. Kuhlberg Fanny (1929), Hannover (D); Angestellte bei Bauern,

12 km von Cilly

1. Landsmann Peter (1925), Wien (A)
2. Leistner Rita (1925), Wien (A)
3. Ruth Schütz (1925), Berlin (D), in der Résistance
4. Steinberg Frieda (1924), Wien (A), Heimerzieherin in Mégève
5. Stückler Cilly (1929), Wien (A), Angestellte bei Bauern in Caillac

At the Ophanage of he Francisan Nuns in Pamiers (Spring 1944)

1. Eva Fernanbuk
2. Edith Jankielewitz (1931)
3. Guita Kokotek (1930), Chemnitz (D)
4. Irene Kokotek (1930), Chemnitz (D)

At the monastery of Lévignac near Toulouse (Summer 1944)

1. Peter "Pierre" Bergmann, Wien (A)
2. Gustav Manasse (1931), Frankfurt (D)
3. Fred Manasse (1935), Frankfurt (D)

Peter and Gustav fled, were caught and fled again.

In Toulouse, they met by chance at Madame Giselle's (an employee of the American-Jewish aid organization 'Joint')

1. Peter Bergmann, reached Palestine
2. Eva Fernanbuk, reached Palestine
3. Edith Jankielewicz, reached Palestine

1. Gustav Manasse (1931), reached the United States
2. Fred Manasse (1935), reached the United States

With the help of 'Joint' Eva, Edith and Peter got to Spain and to Israel (then Palestine), Gustav and Mane into one uncles to New York, where they were taken in by two Jewish families.

Also with the help of the organization 'Joint', in arduous, three-day march Andorra, then Spain and finally Palestine:

1. Ilse Brünell, Cologne (D)
2. Ruth Schütz (1925), Berlin (D)
3. Heinz Storosum, Cologne (D)

Children who were still at the Castle in th Fall 1943 =

In the fall of 1944, the 'big ones' were still in the Castle of La Hille:

Bravermann Israel (Isi), Brüssel (B) Dessauer Trude, Bamberg (D) Kuhlberg Rita, Hannover (D) Kriegstein Friedel, Köln (D)

• Gerti Lind (1927), Wien (A)

Riemann Renée, vermutlich aus Wien

• Irma Seelenfreund (1921), Frankfurt (D)
• Martha Storosum (1927), Köln (D)
• Henri Vos (1933), Gymnach (D)

{{Most Jewish children of Schloss La Hille were between the ages of 15 and 18. Younger were:

• Friedel
• Toni Rosenblatt (1931)
• Isi Valeris (1933)
• Fred Manasse
• Gustav Manasse
• Henri Vos
• Inge Bernhard
• Peter Bergmann
• Edith Jankielewitz
• Guita und Irene Kokotek
• Eva Fernanbuk}}

Jewish Children who were not from Belgium and joined the group in France

1. Daniel und Josette Mendes, Besançon (6 und 7 Jahre alt)
2. Daniel Reingold, St. Malo (12)
3. Gonda und Samuel Weinberg, Amsterdam (12 und 14)
4. Rachel Borensztain, Frankreich (10)
5. René Baumgardt, Frankreich (8)

The Children of La Hille (AJPN List)

See [1]

See [2]

• ABRAMOVITCH

-- Paulette Abramovitch (n.d.)

• BERGMANN (A)

-- *Peter Bergmann (1930), Peter Heinz, dossier n° A 342244, 2 May 1930 Vienna, Austria <confirmed>

• BERLIN

-- *Inge Berlin (1924) -- Egon Berlin (1928), dossier n ° A 328095 <partisan> <killed in battle> <buried at Pamiers>

• BIER

-- Hermann Bier (??), Hermann Carl, dossier n° A 328892

• BLAU

-- Rosalie Blau (1931)

• BLUMENFELD

-- Carl Blumenfeld (29 Mar 1924), deported (Auschwitz, 18 Jul 43), perished

• BRAVERMANN

-- Isi Bravermann (?)

• BRUNEL

-- Henri Brunel (1925) né à Cologne, 19.07.1925

• BUCKSBAUM

-- Majer Bucksbaum (??), dossier n° A 353432.

• CHAIM (D)

-- *Edgar Chaim (1924) Berlin

• CLEMENT (F)

-- François Clément (?) from Toulose

• COSMANN

-- Rosemarie Cosmann (n.d.)

• DAVIDS

-- Gerd Davids (??), dossier n° A 326760

• DEUTSCH

-- Kurt Deutsch (??) né à Ash (Tchécoslovaquie)

• DOMKA (D)

-- Aliza Domka (??), allemande, confiée par ses parents au Secours Suisse arriva au château de La Hille dans l'Ariège.

• DORTORT

-- Emil Dortort (1924), dossier n° A 339839 <deportees Majdanek> <perished> -- Joseph Dortort (1928), dossier n° A 339838.

• DRAB (A)

-- Egon Drab (?) né à Vienne (Autriche)

• ECKMANN

-- Karoline Eckmann (??), dossier n° A 356895 -- Gerhard Eckmann (1929), dossier n° A 338373

• EISLER

-- Bernhard Eisler (1928)

• ELKAN -- Bertrand Elkan (1922) Berthold

• EPSTEIN

-- Werner Epstein (1923) <deported> <survived>

• ESCHWEGE

-- Alfred Eschwege (??), dossier n° A 332705

• EVRARD

-- Monique Evrard (?) - originaire de Nice.

• FEILCHENFELD

-- Wolf-Isaak Feilchenfeld (??), dossier n° A 328902 -- Heinz Feilchenfeld (??), dossier n° A 328903.

• FINDLING

-- Joseph Findling (1928), dossier n° A 336127, né à Cologne, 21.06.1928) <USA> -- Siegfried Findling Fred (1930), dossier n° A 334521, né à Cologne, 4.12.1930 <USA> -- Martin Findling (1932), dossier n° A 334520, né à Cologne, 08.08.1932 <USA>

• FLANTER

-- Karla Flanter (1929) -- Lore Flanter (1934)

• GARFUNKEL

-- Hans Garfunkel (1924), dossier n° A 335432 <escaped to Switzerland>

• GERLER

-- Josef Gerler (??), dossier n° A 328109

• GOLDAPPER (A)

-- Edith Goldapper (1924) - Vienna (Austria) Edith Goldapper (née à Vienne, 12.11.1924) <escaped to Switzerland>

• GOLDMARK

-- *Rosa Goldmark (1927-1945)

• GOLDSCHMIDT

-- Carl Heinz Goldschmidt (??), dossier n° A 331699.

• GRABKOWICZ (A)

-- Lixie Grabkowicz Grabkovics (1924) née à Vienne, 30.10.1924 <USA>

• GROSSMANN

-- Bernard Léopold Grossmann (né à Bautzen, 02.08.1924 -- Arié Grossmann (??) -- Willy Grossmann / Seev Ram

• GRUENBAUM

-- Isak Grünbaum, dossier n° A 349776,

• HAAS (D)

-- Charlotte Haas (1930), Traben-Trarbach (Germany) -- Günther Haas Guy (1929), Traben-Trarbach (Germany) =Leo? -- Leo Haas (??), dossier n° A 326820. =Gunther?

• HARTOCH

-- Hans Hartoch (??), dossier n° A 328832

• HELFT

-- Inge Helft (1926)

• HERBST

-- Adolf Herbst (??), dossier n° A 356886.

• HERZ (D)

-- Ruth Herz (1922) Holzheim (Allemagne) -- *Georges Herz (1928)

• HOCHBERGER

-- [[Adele Hochberger] (1927), dite Dela, née en 1927 à Vienne (Autriche)

• Edith Jankielewicz

• JOSEPH

-- *Inge Joseph (1925)

• JUELICH

-- Karl Jülich (??), dossier n° A 338814.

• KAMMER

-- Herbert Kammer (1931)

• KAMMERER

-- *Walter Kammerer (1922) -- *Manfred Kammerer (1925)

• KANTOR

-- *Arthur Kantor (1926) -- *Eva Kantor (1928)

• KAUFMANN

-- Hannelore Kaufmann (??), dossier n° A 356898.

• KEMLET (KAMLET?)

-- Manfred Kemlet (??), teacher

• KERN (D)

-- *Margot Kern (1926), petite réfugiée juive allemande, fut confiée à Maurice Dubois et envoyée au château de La Hille dans l'Ariège.

• KLEIN (D)

-- Kurt Klein (1923? / older brother) = Alexander Klein, dossier n° A 345164 -- *Helga Klein (1925).

• KLONOVER

-- Ruth Klonover (1924) née à Dortmund, 09.11.1924 Later Tamir, réfugiée juive allemande, fut confiée à Maurice Dubois et envoyée château de La Hille dans l'Ariège. <Israel> <confirmed

• KRIEGSTEIN (D)

-- Friedel Kriegstein (F / Germany, n.d.) Cologne

• KROLIK

-- Max Krolik (1928) -- Rosa Krolik (1933)

• KUHLBERG

-- Rita Kuhlberg (1929) née à Hanovre, 01.03.1928) <survived in hiding in France> <Israel> -- Fanny Kuhlberg (n.d) <survived in hiding in France>

• KOWACZKOWSKI

-- *Gérard Kowaczkowski (1926)

• LANDESMANN

-- Peter Hans Landesmann (??), dossier n° A 342186.

• LAUB

-- Rainer Martin Laub (??), dossier n° A 356881.

• LEISTNER

-- *Rita Leistner (1925) née à Vienne, 24.01.1925)

• LEWIN

-- *Leo Lewin (1925), dossier n° A 335425, né à Falkenbourg, 23.01.1925 <Argentina>

• LIND (A)

-- *Gerti Lind (1927)

• LOEWENSTEIN

-- Rudolph Siegbert Löwenstein (??). dossier n° A 338351.

• MANASSE

-- Gustav Manasse (1931) -- Fred Manasse (1935)

• MOSER

-- Kurt Moser (1922) <deported> <perished> -- *Édith Moser (1924)

• NOHR

-- Fernand Nohr (?) Toulouse

• NUSSBAUM (D)

-- Addi Nussbaum Adolph (1925) -- Lotte Nussbaum (1927?)

• OBERSITSKER

-- Gerd Obersitsker (1925), Obersitzker, dossier n° A 326765 <refugee in USA, 1941>

• OEHLBAUM

-- Rudi Oehlbaum (1928)

• PERRY (are they Jewish?) - originaire de Foix.

-- Raoul Perry (1928) -- Guy Perry -- Mireille Perry

• RINDSBERG

-- Werner Rindsberg (1924) <refugee in USA, 1941>

• ROESSLER

-- Ellen Roessler (??), dossier n° A 338345.

• ROSENBLATT (D)

-- Else Rosenblatt (1925), n° A 342231 -- Regina Rosenblatt (1927) -- Toni Rosenblatt (1931)

• ROSENTHAL

-- Günther Rosenthal (??), dossier n° A 328123

• ROSENZWEIG

-- Joszi Rosenzweig (n.d.) -- Egon Rosenzweig, nés à Vienne (Autriche) (n.d.)

• ROTH (P)

-- Jacques Roth (1925), Jakob Moses, dossier n° A 328847, né à Sterkrade-Oberhausen, 11.01.1925

• SALZ (D)

-- *Peter Salz (1926), (né à Berlin, 14.02.1926, petit réfugié juif allemand, fut confié à Maurice Dubois et envoyé au château de La Hille dans l'Ariège. <Switzerland> <Israel>

• SCHAECHTELE

-- Max Schaechtele

• SCHEUER

-- Marianne Scheuer (??), n° A 335443.

• SCHLESINGER

-- Paul Schlesinger (1929) et sa mère Flora et Ernst Schlesinger

• SCHLIMMER

-- Hanni Schlimmer (1926), dossier n° A 356877

• SCHRAGENHEIM (A)

-- Inge Schragenheim (1924)

• SCHUMANN

-- Benno Schumann (??), dossier n° A 342299

• SCHUTZ (Schütz)

-- Ruth Schütz (1925) née à Berlin, 31.03.1925 <Partisans, escaped to Spain & Palestine> -- Betty Schütz (1930) née à Berlin, 18.01.1930

• 1941 / 1942 Famille Seelenfreund - Irma Seelenfreund

• SOMMER

-- Manfred Sommer (??), dossier n° A 342300

• SOSTHEIM

-- Klaus Sostheim (M / Poland, 1926), dossier n° A 328118.

• SPIRO

-- Spiro et Max Spiro, nés à Hamm (Allemagne) (??)

• STEINBERG (A)

-- Frieda Steinberg (1924) née à Vienne, 23.12.1924 <Israel>

• STEINHARDT

-- Ilse Steinhardt (1923), Ida Ilse, dossier n° A 342306 -- Jules Steinhardt (1930) -- Kurt Steinhardt (1932)

• STEUER (P)

-- Antoinette Steuer (1936)

• STOROSUM (D)

-- Heinz Storosum (n.d. / older sibling) -- Martha Storosum (1927)

• STRAUSS

-- Walter Strauss (1925) <deported Auschwitz, perished>

• Clause Studniewisz

• STUECKLER (A)

-- Cilly Stueckler (1929). Caecillie, dossier n° A 335466 -- Norbert Stueckler (1925) Wien

• SZMULEWICZ

-- Betty Szmulewicz (??), dossier n° A 331720.

• THIERRY

• TIDOR

-- Manfred Tidor (??), dossier n° A 342201.

• TOCKER

-- Maximilian Tocker (??), dossier n° A 338409.

• VELERIS

-- Isi Veleris (Belgium, 1933)

• VOS (D)

-- Manfred Vos (1924) <deported, perished> -- Henri Vos (1933)

• WEINBERG

-- Samuel Weinberg (14 years old) -- Gonda Weinberg (12 years old) - originaire d'Amsterdam

• WEINMANN

-- Rolf Weinmann (1931)

• WERTHEIMER

-- Fritz Wertheimer (1924) 19 March <deported> <perished>

• WINTER

-- Norbert Winter (n.d.)

• WOLFGANG

-- *Luzian Wolfgang (1925)

• WOLPERT

-- Willy Wolpert (1930)

• WULFF (P)

-- Ilse Wulff (1925)

• ZANG

-- Henri Zang (??)

Bibliography

• Walter W. Reed, The Children of La Hille: Eluding Nazi Capture during World War II (2015).

"Following the horrors of Kristallnacht in November of 1938, frightened parents were forced to find refuge for their children, far from the escalating anti-Jewish violence. To that end, a courageous group of Belgian women organized a desperate and highly dangerous rescue mission to usher nearly 1,000 children out of Germany and Austria. Of these children, ninety-three were placed on a freight train, traveling through the night away from their families and into the relative safety of Vichy France. Ranging in age from five to sixteen years, the children along with their protectors spent a harsh winter in an abandoned barn with little food before eventually finding shelter in the isolated Château de la Hille in southern France. While several of the youngest children were safely routed to the United States, those who remained continued to be hunted by Nazi soldiers until finally smuggled illegally across the Swiss Alps to safe houses. Remarkably, all but eleven of the original ninety-three children survived the war due to the unrelenting efforts of their protectors and their own resilience ... In The Children of La Hille, Reed narrates this stunning firsthand account of the amazing rescue and the countless heroic efforts of those who helped along the way. As one of the La Hille children, Reed recalls with poignant detail traveling from lice-infested, abandoned convents to stately homes in the foothills of the Pyrenees, always scrambling to keep one step ahead of the Nazis. Drawing upon survivor interviews, journals, and letters, Reed affectionately describes rousing afternoon swims in a nearby natural pond and lively renditions of Molière plays performed for an audience of local farmers. He tells of heart-stopping near misses as the Vichy police roundups intensified, forcing children to hide in the woods to escape capture. The Children of La Hille gives readers an intimate glimpse of a harrowing moment in history, paying tribute to ordinary people acting in extraordinary ways."--Publisher description.