The Quatrevilles & Charolette Adelman

Andre, Lea Quatreville and Family

The Quatreville family lived in the village of Beaumont-en-Argonne, which was home to just 612 people,  and was within the governmental department called the Ardennes. This French department was part of a larger, multinational, geographic region, primarily Belgium, which is also called the Ardennes. Beaumont-en-Argonne was in a highly strategic area, as it is 150 miles northeast of Paris, less than 20 miles from the Belgian border, and 34 miles north of Verdun. Although under constant threat, the people of the Ardennes fought to save as many people from deportation as they could. The Quatrevilles were among the courageous people of the region.

The Nazis arrived in Beaumont-en-Argonne by crossing the Belgian border in May 1940. Under the German authority, foreign Jews were put to work in the WOL (Wirtschaftsoberleitung), which translates to General Division or Department of Agriculture.  This wasinstituted in November 1941, and many Jews arrived in the Ardennes to farm the requisitioned fields.  There were approximately 45 camps enrolled in the WOL in the Ardennes.

By the middle of the war the entire district was under Nazi control. Prior to their occupation of the area, it was devastated by Nazi bombardment. By 1940, the Ardennes was designated by the Nazis as a containment area where dozens of hard labor sites and internment camps were located. Beginning in November 1941, large numbers of Jews were being sent to work the fields of the surrounding farms. Other Jews came to northeastern France to both hide from the Nazis and to join the resistance.

The area of Beaumont-en-Argonne was liberated in late 1944, as the allies made progress defeating the Germans in the Ardennes Counter offensive better known as the Battle of the Bulge. This took place between December 1944 and January 1945.

Prior to the 1940 occupation of France, Hershel (Henri) Rozencwajg and his wife, Rajzel, were Polish refugees living in Paris with their two children: Charlotte, who was born in 1932 and Max Henri, who was born in 1938. The early years of the war were tumultuous in Paris. As safety for the Jews of Paris diminished, the Rozencwajgs decided that the family would go into hiding.

For a few weeks in 1941 they took shelter at the children’s center that the Rozencwajg children attended. They then took refuge in the Bon du Pasteur convent. Charlotte was placed in the kindergarten and her mother and brother were settled into the upstairs bedroom of the house next door. Hershel, who was of interest to the Nazis, moved from place to place at this time. The family was at the convent for a month when Hershel was approached with a plan to get the family out of Paris. The plan involved moving the children to an orphanage while the parents established themselves in a new place. The intention was that they would send for the children when settled.

Confident in this plan, Charlotte’s parents placed both children in an orphanage with many other Jewish children. The orphanage arranged for a Parents’day which would provide a chance for the parents to say good-bye to their children. Unfortunately, informers notified the Germans about the presence of the parents and they surrounded the building waiting for them to leave. The parents were all arrested by the Gestapo and sent to the Drancy transit camp. On August 31, 1942, the Rozencwajgs were put on a truck transporting people to the train bound for Auschwitz. At some point Hershel jumped from the truck while Rajzel, afraid that she would not see her children again, decided it was better to stay onboard. Interned in Auschwitz, she died at the age of 33 in 1943. Hershel was arrested for a second time and escaped again.

After placement with a woman who offered adoption and was thought to be trustworthy, Charlotte found herself in a situation where her caregiver conspired to sell her to the Nazis. Charlotte had a confidant in the caregiver’s apartment building, the custodian, who contacted a family friend named Madame Rolland to help. Madame Rolland gave Charlotte contact information for a Jewish woman named Madame Elazare, a family friend, who quickly came to her aid. Charlotte stayed in Madame Elazare’s home for the year between September 1942 and September 1943. Her father managed to see her every so often until the Nazis nearly caught up with the two of them years after they first fled.

Hershel was in the Ardennes when he heard what happened to Charlotte in Paris, he devised a plan to rescue her by moving her from Paris to the Ardennes, where he was encamped. Charlotte then began an arduous journey, first hidden in a delivery truck and then traveling by train to Beaumont-en-Argonne where she was united with her father. They lived together in Beaumont; Hershel working on the farms for the Germans and Charlotte going to school in the village. Eventually, they got word that there was to be a roundup of Jews on January 4, 1944. Knowing that the Germans were closing in, Hershel once again made plans to save Charlotte. Arrangements were made with the Quatrevilles, whom he knew casually from the post office. Hershel took Charlotte to a farm deep into the countryside and left Charlotte to be picked up by Andre and Lea Quatreville and taken to their home in Beaumont-en-Argonne.

 At the time of the roundup, Hershel was not in the village. To prevent his capture, Lea immediately called her siblings and asked that they find Herschel and let him know not to come back to Beaumont.  After the roundup Hershel  was hidden by a farmer, François Pelzer, at the ‘’Ferme de Maugré’’ in Carignan where he worked clandestinely until the end of the war. After the war Herschel came back to Beaumont to be reunited with Charlotte.

There were many risks associated with sheltering Jews, and it was well known that anyone caught hiding Jews would be arrested, beaten, and possibly executed. Knowing this, the entire Quatreville family proceeded with the plan to protect this 12-year-old girl from the Nazis for the duration of the war. The Quatreville family consisted of Andre, born in 1897, and Ernestine (called Lea), born in 1903, as well as Lea’s mother, Marie Eugenie Tisseron, born1867. Andre and Lea had two children, an 18-year-old daughter, Ginette, and a 4-year-old son, Alain.          

Originally from Paris, André was an accountant working for a safe box company which in 1936 had to lay off many of their employees.  Lea was working for the post office, and was  given the opportunity to work at the post office of Beaumont-en-Argonne, where had obtained a job as a Postman. They lived in an apartment located in the same building as the Post  Office.   Andre was the Town-Hall secretary of Beaumont.

War came to Beaumont in May 1940 when Lea was pregnant with Alain.  She received a request from the French authority to move to the town of Coulonge-su-Autize, a village located in the southwest of France, where Alain was born in October.

After June 1940, the Vichy government was installed, and the Quatrevilles were requested to go back to Beaumont. They moved back in January 1941, when Alain was 4 months old and Ginette was 15 years old. When they arrived, they discovered all the damage done by the invasion.  Many houses were destroyed or damaged but not the building of The post office or the bakery. It was so cold in Beaumont, Alain slept close to the oven of the bakery in a bakery basket, or he slept in a little bed in the post office where the heat of the stove warmed him. 

Food was scarce in the village as there was only a bakery and a butcher shop in which to get supplies. The surrounding farms occasionally provided the family with produce and milk, if those items had not been requisitioned by the Germans. At that time France was under the restriction of rationing tickets.

Lea’s mother, Marie, was also living with them and she tended their garden, as well as several little gardens of the destroyed houses. This was an important task as it provided fruits

Hiding a young girl presented many challenges. While the Quatrevilles treated Charlotte like family, she still had to be kept in a place that was unobtrusive in case of surprise visits from the Gestapo. As a result, the Quatrevilles hid Charlotte in the cellar of a bombed-out house that was adjacent to the family’s home. This cellar was hidden and accessed through a passageway that connected the Quatreville’s cellar with that of the deserted house. This space was safe; though there were no windows and few comforts, she was warm and fed. The family provided her with clothing, food and the needs of hygiene, as well a mattress to sleep on, and a lamp to give her light.

Knowing the girl was alone, Marie would go down to visit Charlotte. While there, she taught Charlotte to knit and gave her needles and yarn so that Charlotte would have something to do with her time. Additionally, Ginette visited to pass the time as well as delivering food for Charlotte. Ginette also kept her clean by giving her sponge baths. For months, Charlotte marked time by these visits.  Despite the visits, Charlotte remained in the cellar desperately yearning to spend a few hours upstairs.

The Quatrevilles and Charlotte became close, but the situation was tension-filled. The farms and houses in Beaumont-en-Argonne were subjected to repeated surprise inspections from the Gestapo, who were looking for hidden Jews. Then one night, Charlotte begged to come up and sleep in a bed and be with people. The family gave in and let her up into the house. Unfortunately, that was the night the soldiers came.

Ginette’s boyfriend, Robert, was visiting on a furlough from a labor camp that night and the Nazis came looking for him because he had not returned. When Robert heard the Nazis come through the front door, he picked up Charlotte thinking the Germans knew they were both there.  In a panic, Robert was about to jump out the window with Charlotte when his name was called. At that point Robert knew they were only there for him and he dropped Charlotte and jumped out the window and into the garden. With limited light by the window the Germans were unable to see what Robert had in his arms.

The Germans then searched the home. As soon as Charlotte heard the Germans running through the house, she hid under a bed and drew herself flat to the wall. The soldiers proceeded to shove their bayonets under the bed hoping to find what was underneath. The tip came so close to Charlotte, that she stuck her hand in her mouth to keep from crying out. If they had found her, they would have shot them all. By the time the Germans left, she was in shock. The Quatrevilles knew they could not call a doctor, and not knowing what to do they calmed her with a little cognac. Once she was calm, Andre told her she could never come up again.  Charlotte stayed in the cellar until the war was over, staying in the cellar for a total of nine months.

Beaumont-en-Argonne was liberated in September 1944. Charlotte spent several months openly living with the Quatrevilles waiting for her father. He spent several months looking for her brother, and then retrieved Charlotte from the Quatrevilles.

After the end of the war, Lea was incredibly sad to be separated from Charlotte. Adding to her dismay was having no news from her. So little by little the Quatreville family stopped talking about Charlotte. For many years, this part of their lives was not spoken of.  Years later, a man doing research, came to Beaumont looking for information about the round-up of January 1944. As part of his research, he was directed to the Quatrevilles since the story of saving Charlotte was known.

The researcher contacted Lea to find out the details of her story and to ask her questions. Concerned, Lea asked Alain if he thought it was alright to speak of Charlotte since they had not heard from her since 1945. Alain assured her that it was a good thing to do, and this started conversations after so many years of silence.

After the war, Charlotte moved to various places around the world, finally ending up in Arizona. Then, after nearly 70 years Charlotte received a Facebook message from Alain Quartreville, wondering what had happened to her after the families lost touch. In his message, Alain told Charlotte that he would love to be reunited with her. Charlotte, in various interviews, recalled that “receiving that message put me back to the time when I was hiding in their cellar. It was very emotional.”

Their reunion occurred in July 2018, when Charlotte was 86 years old and Alaine was 78. They planned on visiting several places, including the Wall of Names in Paris at the Mémorial de la Shoah, where Charlotte’s mother is memorialized. Although the initial plan was to stay in Paris, Alain suggested they journey to Beaumont-en-Argonne, where Charlotte could be reunited with his 92-year-old sister, Ginette, who provided Charlotte with care and companionship so many years ago.

Andre and Lea Quatreville were posthumously recognized for their bravery, and devotion to Charlotte, in a ceremony awarding them with the medal of the Righteous Among Nations. Alain, their son, accepted on their behalf on April 11, 2019. Daniel Saada, Minister Plenipotentiary of Israel in Paris presented the medal to their son, Alain, in Beaumont-en-Argonne, the town in which they lived, and the place where they hid Charlotte in 1944.

Many brave individuals risked their lives to hide children. Jewish children were concealed in countries throughout Europe in annexes, on farms, in basements, in attics, in orphanages, and in convents to name but a few of the places they were hidden.Some children were hidden in more than one place changing hiding places so as not to be discovered. Some were hidden on their own, some with their parents, some with other family members, and some with complete. The strong bonds that formed between the people who opened their hearts and homes to Jewish people, especially children, were forged from love, courage, and strength.

As a nation, the French people moved on from the war, without speaking much about the horrors that were experienced. After a while, stories would move from person to person and from town to town. Stories that spoke of the tremendous acts of ordinary people. As these stories began to be told, the people of Beaumont, and the whole Ardennes region, started coming forward with their own stories. Their extraordinary actions were marked by their towns, their cities, their nation, and Israel. Many of these people were designated Righteous Among the Nations and were awarded the Medal of the Righteous.

The people of Beaumont-en-Argonne saved 11 people from the January 1944 roundup. The people of the Ardennes region fought to save their Jewish compatriots, demonstrated by the fact that 29 people in this portion of France were awarded the honor of Righteous Among the Nations.

• Lucien Achart - (Lalobbe)

• Marie Achart - (Lalobbe)

• Daniel Brunet - (False)

• Juliette Brunet - (False)

• Gabriel Cailac - (The Besace)

• Sara Cailac - (The Besace)

• Odette Chauveau - (Carignan)

• Georges Dereimsv(Hauviné)

• Lucienne Dereims - (Hauviné)

• Albert Didier - (Verpel)

• Suzanne Didier - (Verpel)

• Albert Ducloux - (Beaumont-en-Argonne)

• Clémence Ducloux - (Beaumont-en-Argonne)

• Émile Fontaine - (Aubenton) (Les Mazures)

• Alice Laroche Ficher - (Wadelincourt)

• Jean-Marie Leroux - (Reims) (Poix-Terron)

• Marie-Thérèse Leroux Trouillet - (Reims) (Poix-Terron)

• Camille Maljean - (Tétaigne)

• Louis Maljean - (Tétaigne)

• Mélanie Maljean - (Tétaigne)

• Nestor Prime - (Baâlons)

• Roger Prime - (Baâlons)

• André Quatreville - (Beaumont-en-Argonne)

• Léa Quatreville - (Beaumont-en-Argonne)

• Jean Tarradou - (Seraincourt)

• Juliette Tarradou - (Seraincourt)

• Georges Wimart - (Fraillicourt)

• Jeanne Wimart - (Fraillicourt)

• Denise Wimart Lion - (Fraillicourt)

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We Remember: The Righteous

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We Remember: The Righteous Exhibit Key

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1. Exhibit Entrance

   1. Introduction

   2. Prologue

2. Schindler & White

   1. Righteous Among the Nations

   2. Oskar Schindler

   3. Emilie Schindler

   4. Dr. Alexander White

3. The Quatrevilles & Adelman

   1. The Rescuer

   2. The Quatrevilles & Charolette Adelman

4. Lier & Speyer

   1. The Dutch Resistance

   2. Jantje Spier & Philip Pach Speyer

Strength, Courage and Hope - Making an Emotional Connection to the Holocaust

SPEAKER: Holocaust Survivor Charlotte Adelman

Holocaust survivor, Charlotte Adelman was 9 years old and living in Paris when the Nazis invaded in 1940. She and her brother were given away to an orphanage by her parents, who were told by the Nazis that they had to go work at a "camp." Instead, they were put on a truck that was headed to Auschwitz, where her mother, the motivation for Charlotte’s own survival, was killed. Adelman’s father escaped but her mother stayed on the truck, fearing she'd be killed and never see her children again if she ran away. Adelman's brother was sent to the hospital due to scarlet fever, and she was adopted by a woman who was later known to be selling children to the Nazis. Her father successfully located her and made arrangements to bring her to the Quatreville family in Beaumont du Argonne.

The Quartreville family was recognized by Yad Vashem as Righteous among the Nations.