Canadian Jewish Congress Honors Priest Who Rescued Jewish Children from Nazis During War

The Canadian Jewish Congress today honored at a luncheon Father Pierre Chaillet, Jesuit priest who headed the French Resistance’s campaign to save the lives of Jewish children during the Nazi occupation. He was received by Samuel Bronfman, president, and Saul Hayes, national executive director of the Congress. Father Chaillet is now in Canada on behalf of the Committee for Social Welfare of the French Resistance Movement, of which he is director.

There was continuous contact during the occupation with each of the thousands of children and their guardians, and money was continuously provided by Jewish and other organizations for their maintenance. After the war these children were turned over to such institutions as the rabbinical Vaad Haatzalah and the OSE. Chief Rabbi Issac Helevi Herzog of Palestine visited Father Chaillet in France and formally thanked him for his work.