A glowing tribute to the mayor of a small French town who risked his life during the German occupation to save Jews from the Nazis is published in the current issue of the local Jewish publication, Renaissance.
McRaoul Laportarie, mayor of the town of Bascons, in the department of Landes, aided several hundred Jews to cross the line of demarcation between the occu- pied and “free” zones during 1940 and 1941, the tribute disclosed. He himself was forced to flee to the unoccupied zone when the Gestapo learned of his activities.
He was able, however, to continue to aid the Jewish fugitives in the “free” zone by intervening for them with the local authorities to secure their release from internment camps, by furnishing them with false identity papers and by finding them shelter.
The article cited numerous cases in which McLaporterie had aided Jewish families, including one case where he personally escorted a group to safety using his authority as mayor to prevent interference with the fugitives by the police. McLa- porterie, the article said, was a Frenchman “who had the courage and the greatness of soul to help the Jews and save them from deportation.”
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
