Red-haired and vivacious, Renee is a welcome substitute teacher for my JCC exercise class. A child survivor of the Holocaust, in her 80s with bright, clear eyes, she has so much wisdom to share and I was fortunate to sit down and interview her.
Renee recognizes herself as lucky. She lives with a joie de vivre which she infuses into our workouts. She ends each class by having her students, women in their 40s, 50s and 60s, shout joyfully, “Hip, hip hooray! (or Renee!)”. She wants us to leave with a cheer in our bodies.
She lives what she preaches; every morning, she wakes up and smiles at her day.
When Renee said that she was born as a twin during the Holocaust, I knew I needed to get the full story.
Renee was born in 1942 in Brive La Galliarde, France to her mother, Milly and father, Harry. Milly was from Czechoslovakia and Harry from Poland. They met in Brussels, Belgium.
When Harry and Milly heard that Hitler was on his way to Belgium, they took their one son and escaped to the South of France. A non-Jewish farmer and his wife, with no children of their own, took the family in.
Andre Trocme and Edouard Theis, Protestant co-pastors in the French town of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon, were instrumental in saving thousands of Jews in the South of France during this time. The pair encouraged their congregations to “do the will of G‑d, not of men” and rescue Jews. Together with their wives, Magda, and Mildred, they hid Jews in their homes and had their congregants throughout the town and surrounding villages do the same.
The farmer and his wife who took in Harry, Milly, and their son were under the guidance of Trocme and Theis.
Harry was involved in the resistance and was often away from the farm helping their efforts. Milly was often the one to open the door to the Nazis who roamed the towns looking for Jews. They would ask her, “Are there any Jews here?” and Milly, though her heart beat wildly, would open the door wide, and say, “There are no Jews here. Come in, see for yourself.” The Nazis never crossed the threshold.
Milly also worked the fields, picking potatoes. When she got pregnant with Renee, she continued to work the fields in spite of the tremendous discomfort. Her stomach even dragged on the ground! Milly told Renee that the work was brutal, but the farmers were kind and needed help. Harry also made sure to pay their hosts, since during the six years the family stayed with them, they grew to a family of five.
What shocked me the most about Renee’s story was that the whole town was in on protecting the Jews.
“How did your mother give birth to you (and your twin!) during the war?” I asked her.
“She went to the town clinic,” Renee explained. Everyone at the clinic knew Milly was a Jew and that was that. In Renee’s words, “Everyone knew, and everyone participated in protecting the Jews.” Pretty remarkable!
With Antisemitism currently raging around the world, it’s all the more encouraging to hear about non-Jewish men, women and children who risked their lives to save Jews, to be human in the face of hate and savagery, to act from compassion and to succeed in saving thousands of precious souls.
After the interview, I decided to look up Renee’s town, Brive La Galliarde, and the name perfectly represents those who lived there. “Galliarde” means honor or strength, and that’s exactly right! It was a capital of resistance during the war.
When Milly went into labor, Harry was on one of his missions. It was a friend, the town baker, who was called to help bring Milly to the clinic. Renee was born quickly, but her twin, Henri, who followed an hour later, was a complete surprise!
Though Milly, Harry, and the three children lived quite openly compared to many others who hid during the Holocaust, they still lived in constant fear of being discovered by the Nazis.
Renee, however, never knew that fear; as a baby, she was always in someone’s loving arms.
When Renee was three, the war ended and the family returned to Belgium. Their house was intact besides a broken window. Milly, who came from an observant home, was able to return to keeping kosher and the religious life she had been raised in (which circumstances had compelled her to put aside while living with the farmers). Harry was not religious but supported Milly in her observance and gave her free rein of the home. Eventually they made their way to America, and settled in West Virginia near one of Milly’s brothers who had escaped the war.
Believe it or not, Renee grew up very comfortable, thinking people were generally nice, without the shadow of Antisemitism. She is blessed with a beautiful positive mindset, and I feel grateful that she shared her wisdom and experiences with me.
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