Auguste Bohny

Auguste Bohny

During the war, Auguste Bohny was active in Le Secours Suisse, a Swiss rescue organization that operated in Le-Chambon-sur-Lignon (Haute Loire), France. Bohny, and his wife Friedel Bohny-Reiter*, ran an institution in Chambon that sheltered at least 800 children in 1941-1944. These unfortunate children, who had been saved from concentration camps by other employees of Le Secours Suisse, spent between three and six months there until permanent arrangements could be made for them. Many survivors subsequently described the warmth and love that Bohny lavished on them during their ordeal. Nathalie Stern, née Plessner, depicted Bohny as “a refined, serious person, loving and forgiving, who gave wonderful care to children who had been persecuted for their origin (as foreigners), their race (as Jews), or because of their situation (parents in the Resistance or dead).” Similar accounts were offered by Johanna Liebmann and Margot Vicki-Schwarzschild, who, along with another three members of Vicki’s family, owed their lives to Bohny. In addition to providing devoted care, Bohny made superhuman efforts to keep French police and German soldiers away from his institution and camouflaged the presence of the Jewish children there. Teenagers hiding in other rescue agencies active in Chambon at that time were captured and deported to their deaths after their hideout was searched. In contrast, the children in Bohny’s institution survived unscathed. In July 1986, a memorial conference was held in Chambon, with the participation of many of the children who had spent the occupation in Bohny’s facility.

On this occasion, Bohny said, “Children who were haunted night and day by the memory of the horrors of the past came together in our institution. From the moment they came they were given an opportunity to gradually resume the ordinary, tranquil, happy lives of young people – even though they were fearful about their parents’ fate.” On July 16, 1990, Yad Vashem recognized Auguste & Friedel Bohny as Righteous Among the Nations.