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Castle of Chabannes dans la Creuse

Creuse

Castle of Chabannes

    40 Chabannes
    23290 Fursac
Emmanuel Dyan

Timeline

XIXe siècle
Époque contemporaine
1900
2000
novembre 1939
Opening the children's home
1942
Maximum capacity achieved
décembre 1943
Closure of the castle
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui

Key figures

Félix Chevrier - Director of the castle Organizes the reception of Jewish children.

Origin and history

The Château de Chabannes, located in Saint-Pierre-de-Fursac en Creuse, is known for its role during the Second World War. He became a children's home under the management of the Children's Relief Work (SEO), welcoming Jewish children fleeing persecution. Directed by Felix Chevrier, this place offers temporary shelter for nearly 120 children between 1939 and 1943.

During the war, the Creuse welcomed about 3,000 Jews, including 1,000 children. The castle of Chabannes, initially abandoned, is transformed in two months into a reception place for children from Berlin, Warsaw and Paris. In 1942, it housed more than one hundred children, then 120 in 1943, before its closure in December of the same year.

Félix Chevrier, printer and then journalist, socialist and freemason, is actively engaged against the Vichy regime. Close to the Popular Front, he organizes the life of the castle to protect these children, in a context of increasing repression. The site is part of a network of similar refuges in Creuse, such as Chaumont or Masgelier.

External links