Consider two women. These women worked tirelessly during World War II to save Jewish children. This is the Parvis Claire Heyman et Maria Errazuriz. It honors their brave actions.
The Parvis Claire Heyman et Maria Errazuriz is located in Paris’s 12th arrondissement. It sits within the Hôpital Rothschild. You can reach it by taking metro line 6. Get off at the Picpus or Bel-Air stations.
Claire Heyman was born in 1902 in Roubaix. She died in 1997 in Paris. Claire worked as a social worker at the Hôpital Rothschild. During the German occupation, Claire Heyman rescued many Jewish children. She helped them escape deportation. Claire Heyman was part of the Plutus network. This network protected those persecuted by the Nazis.
Maria Errazuriz was a volunteer nurse at the Hôpital Rothschild. She joined the French Resistance. Maria Errazuriz helped save Jewish children from deportation. The Nazis arrested Maria. They interrogated and tortured her. Maria Errazuriz died in 1972 in Chile or Argentina.
Claire Heyman worked with doctors like Colette Brull-Ulmann. They smuggled children through the morgue entrance. It was unguarded. “Aunt Claire” followed the children. She stayed with them in their refuges until after the war.
The Hôpital Rothschild became a “prison” hospital. Jewish people who fell ill in internment camps were treated here. It was before their deportation. Jewish doctors could still practice at this hospital.
The Parvis Claire Heyman et Maria Errazuriz was inaugurated on November 30, 2017. It stands at the corner of Rue Santerre and Rue Picpus. Catherine Baratti-Elbaz attended the ceremony. She is the mayor of the 12th arrondissement. Martin Hirsch also attended. He is the Director General of the APHP. Christophe Girard was there too. He is the Deputy Mayor of Paris. This parvis honors two remarkable women. Claire Heyman and Maria Errazuriz risked their lives. They saved countless children from the horrors of the Holocaust. Their courage must never be forgotten.