Hiding & Escape

Due to local raids and constant anxiety, many of the Jews hiding on the Plateau were eager to escape. With the helpof Pastor Marc Boegner, the president of the Reformed Church of France, the OEuvre de Secours aux Enfants (OSE), the Cimade, and the Amitié Chrétienne (Christian Friendship), a network was put in place to bring refugees to Switzerland, some 300 kilometers away. Many of the contacts along the way were Catholic priests or Protestant ministers.

Fake identity cards proved essential in smuggling Jews out of France. The Plateau had several forgers at work making false documents, including: Pastor Theis and Mireille Philip; Aimé Malécot, who was also one of the transporters of refugees; and a Jewish refugee, Oscar Rosowsky, who made about 50 false papers per week and hid his forgery equipment in beehives. One smuggler, Pierre Piton, was arrested after several missions, but was ultimately released by Italian fascist police.

One Kupferberg Holocaust Center volunteer escaped to Switzerland using false papers that described her as “Anne-Marie Husser,” of Paris, whose true identity was Johanna Hirsch from Karlsruhe, Germany.