Œuvre de secours aux enfants
Encyclopedia
Œuvre de secours aux enfants, commonly abbreviated as OSE, is a French
Jewish humanitarian organization that saved hundreds of Jewish refugee children in Vichy France
during World War II
.
The original OZE (Obshchetsvo Zdravookhraneniya Yevreyiev, Organisation for the health protection of Jews), was created in 1912 in Saint Petersburg
by doctors, to help needy members of the Jewish population. Branches were established in other countries. In 1923 the organization relocated in Berlin, under the presidency of Albert Einstein
. In 1933, fleeing Nazism, it relocated again, this time to France where it became the Œuvre de Secours aux Enfants (Society for Rescuing Children), retaining a similar acronym.
The OSE ran orphanage
s for Jewish children of various ages, including infants, whose parents were either in Nazi concentration camps
or had been killed.
In March 1939, several transports brought German Jewish children to France. Other children arrived either on their own or were brought by relatives. By May 1939, the OSE homes held more than 200 refugee children.
The children were schooled and trained according to their age. To prepare children for possible future dangers, the OSE teachers paid special attention to physical education
and survival skills
.
A 1999 documentary
"The Children of Chabannes" by filmmakers Lisa Gossels and Dean Wetherell is about one such home, Château de Chabannes
, in a small village of Chabannes, where 400 Jewish children were saved from the Holocaust
.
In June-September 1941, three transports brought about 200 children from the OSE homes to the United States
. They were sponsored by the United States Committee for the Care of European Children, The Jewish Children's Aid, and assisted by the American Friends (Quakers) Service Committee in Marseilles.
In 1942, the police began round ups and deportation
s from the orphanages to Nazi concentration and extermination camps, and the OSE organized underground network in order to smuggle the children to neutral countries. Some children were saved by French rescuers, and some joined French resistance
.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
Jewish humanitarian organization that saved hundreds of Jewish refugee children in Vichy France
Vichy France
Vichy France, Vichy Regime, or Vichy Government, are common terms used to describe the government of France that collaborated with the Axis powers from July 1940 to August 1944. This government succeeded the Third Republic and preceded the Provisional Government of the French Republic...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
The original OZE (Obshchetsvo Zdravookhraneniya Yevreyiev, Organisation for the health protection of Jews), was created in 1912 in Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
by doctors, to help needy members of the Jewish population. Branches were established in other countries. In 1923 the organization relocated in Berlin, under the presidency of Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and one of the most prolific intellects in human history...
. In 1933, fleeing Nazism, it relocated again, this time to France where it became the Œuvre de Secours aux Enfants (Society for Rescuing Children), retaining a similar acronym.
The OSE ran orphanage
Orphanage
An orphanage is a residential institution devoted to the care of orphans – children whose parents are deceased or otherwise unable or unwilling to care for them...
s for Jewish children of various ages, including infants, whose parents were either in Nazi concentration camps
Nazi concentration camps
Nazi Germany maintained concentration camps throughout the territories it controlled. The first Nazi concentration camps set up in Germany were greatly expanded after the Reichstag fire of 1933, and were intended to hold political prisoners and opponents of the regime...
or had been killed.
In March 1939, several transports brought German Jewish children to France. Other children arrived either on their own or were brought by relatives. By May 1939, the OSE homes held more than 200 refugee children.
The children were schooled and trained according to their age. To prepare children for possible future dangers, the OSE teachers paid special attention to physical education
Physical education
Physical education or gymnastics is a course taken during primary and secondary education that encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting....
and survival skills
Survival skills
Survival skills are techniques a person may use in a dangerous situation to save themselves or others...
.
A 1999 documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
"The Children of Chabannes" by filmmakers Lisa Gossels and Dean Wetherell is about one such home, Château de Chabannes
Château de Chabannes
Château de Chabannes was an orphanage in the village of Chabannes in Vichy France where about 400 Jewish refugee children were saved from the Holocaust by efforts of its director, Félix Chevrier and other teachers...
, in a small village of Chabannes, where 400 Jewish children were saved from the Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
.
In June-September 1941, three transports brought about 200 children from the OSE homes to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. They were sponsored by the United States Committee for the Care of European Children, The Jewish Children's Aid, and assisted by the American Friends (Quakers) Service Committee in Marseilles.
In 1942, the police began round ups and deportation
Deportation
Deportation means the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. Today it often refers to the expulsion of foreign nationals whereas the expulsion of nationals is called banishment, exile, or penal transportation...
s from the orphanages to Nazi concentration and extermination camps, and the OSE organized underground network in order to smuggle the children to neutral countries. Some children were saved by French rescuers, and some joined French resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
.
List of OSE orphanages in France during World War II
List of OSE children's homes in France during World War II:- Château de Quincy
- Château du Masgelier
- Château de ChabannesChâteau de ChabannesChâteau de Chabannes was an orphanage in the village of Chabannes in Vichy France where about 400 Jewish refugee children were saved from the Holocaust by efforts of its director, Félix Chevrier and other teachers...
- Château de Chaumont
- Le Couret, La Jonchère
- Villa La Chesnaie, Eaubonne
- Villa Helvetia, Montmorency
- Château de la Hille, Château de la Mille
- Mas-Jambot
- Château Maubuisson
- Château Montintin
- Château Montpellier
- Château des Morelles at Broût-Vernet
- Les Tourelles
External links
OSE France website L’Œuvre de Secours aux Enfants (O.S.E.)- Shoah Foundation Institute Visual History Archive. France. (University of Southern CaliforniaUniversity of Southern CaliforniaThe University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
) - Shattered Crystals - The O.S.E.