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Origin and history

The Swiss Motherhood of Elne occupies a castle built in 1901-1902 by Eugène Bardou, heir to the industrialist of cigarette paper JOB. This Belle Époque style building, located in Elne (Pyrénées-Orientales), was acquired in 1939 by Ayuda Suiza (Swiss Community of Aid for Children of Spain) to install a humanitarian maternity. The initiative responded to the emergency created by Retirada (1939), where thousands of Spanish Republicans, including pregnant women, fled the Franco regime to find themselves interned in camps with disastrous health conditions.

Between December 1939 and April 1944, maternity, led by Elizabeth Eidenbenz, welcomed 595 children of 22 nationalities, mainly Spanish refugees, then Jewish women and sick children transferred from camps such as Rivesaltes. The premises, named after Spanish cities (Barcelona, Madrid, Cordoba), provided dignified care in a context where camp deliveries resulted in high mortality. The infants were lying in fruit boxes or laundry baskets, and a nursery was opened in Banyuls-sur-Mer for the youngest.

Maternity worked under the aegis of the Swiss Red Cross, with Swiss and Spanish medical staff. In 1940, Ayuda Suiza became the Swiss Association for Child Victims of War (SAK), and in 1942 the Swiss Red Cross (SRK) Children's Aid. In April 1944, the German army requisitioned the castle in anticipation of the Allied landing, forcing its evacuation to Montagnac (Aveyron). After the war, the building, threatened with ruin, was restored and classified as a historical monument in 2013. Since 2023, it is no longer available for security reasons, despite funds allocated for its preservation.

The role of Elizabeth Eidenbenz, honoured in 2002 as Just among the Nations, was central to this project. His action, supported by volunteers such as Friedel Bohny-Reiter or Elsbeth Kasser, saved hundreds of lives in a context of exile, war and persecution. Maternity symbolizes the Swiss humanitarian commitment during these dark years, while at the same time attesting to the conditions faced by Spanish refugees and deportees.

The castle, of a ground plan and eclectic style, was designed to offer bright and soothing spaces, contrasting with the horror of the camps. Today it is owned by the municipality of Elne and houses a museum dedicated to this history. Historical sources, including books such as The Children of Elizabeth (Hélène Legrais, 2006) or documentaries (The Light of Hope, 2017), perpetuate the memory of this unique place.

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