Search - The Children of Chabannes on DVD

Focus is on the good in people.

Charlie Chaplin | NE USA | 05/30/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"We've watched many Holocaust films & documentaries and read hundreds of stories regarding this horrific time in our world's history. It is a delight when a historical piece comes alive that is inspiring in this way -- documenting how a village, teachers, and a kind-hearted man got together to save Jewish children needing refuge in a place they could call home for a while. There are no graphic scenes nor specific verbal descriptions of what happened to people in the concentration camps, so this is really a film you can share with people of any age. In other words, this would be fine to show in schools because of its accuracy and forwardness, yet there's a certain care taken to not horrify a viewer with graphic images or depictions of violence."

Jewish Children Saved from Nazis

Virginia Allain | Poinciana, FL | 10/28/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Excellent documentary coverage of a small slice of WWII. The Jewish children, separated from their families, gathered at Chabannes in France with hopes of evading the German death camps. The caretakers provided schooling and an almost normal life as the threat of extermination came closer and closer to the 400 children at Chabannes, a small French village.
The interviews with the survivors, including the teachers, gives a good picture of the life there. The many photos and written accounts round out the documentary. Very well done!"

You Must View this Film!

A Dedicated Teacher | 03/23/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I teach sixth graders. We spend time learning about the Holocaust from our WWII unit in our SS book, as well as, our novels. I have just added a film to these studies..."The Children of Chabonnes". All I can say is WOW! It was more touching, informative, and uplifting
than I imagined. It was wonderful. I thought of a hundred ways to use this in school...ok, I may be exaggerating, but it is going
to be a great asset to our curriculum. I cried at a few beautiful statements which I don't do easily. The members of this crew are to be congratulated for a job well done! Guess I better have tissues ready in my classroom. The music was perfect...and the camera shots, dialogue, and updates on the "children" added a valuable, insightful component to this award-winning testimonial!"

A touching Holocaust documentary and a testament to the good

z hayes | TX | 03/02/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

""The Children of Chabannes" is a compelling documentary that focusses on the heroic acts by the villagers of Chabannes in unoccupied France who helped save the lives of German-Jewish refugee children. Filmmaker Lisa Gosells' documentary is quite personal as her father and uncle were two of those Jewish children saved from the Nazis.

Between 1939 and 1943, Chabannes was the location of choice by the Oeuvre de Secours aux Enfants, or OSE, a Jewish social service organisation that placed 400 German-Jewish children at an old chateau under Feliz Chevrier, a non-Jew. The children ranged in age between 2 and 17. Though Chevrier died in 1962, some of his colleagues and secretary are featured in this documentary. Most notably featured are the Paillassou sisters who were schoolteachers, Rachel Pludermacher, the first teacher recruited by the OSE to instruct Jewish refugee children and many other remarkable people.

The documentary is very engaging as it features accounts by the surviving children and of course, the amazing and courageous townspeople who risked everything to protect them. It is a testament to a community that refused to give in to the Nazi tyrants - simple, ordinary people who did extraordinary good things in a horrific time."