Elisabeth Eidenbenz, (

Wila, Switzerland Wila is a municipality in the district of Pfäffikon in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. Geography Wila has an area of . Of this area, 38.4% is used for agricultural purposes, while 51.5% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 9.1% is set ...

, June 12, 1913 -

Zurich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

, Switzerland, May 23, 2011) was a teacher and a

nurse Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...

and founder of the Mothers of

Elne Elne (; ) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. It lies in the former province of Roussillon, of which it was the first capital, being later replaced by Perpignan. Its inhabitants are still called ''Illibéri ...

(also known as ''Maternitat d'Elna'' in Catalan, ''Maternidad de Elna'' in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

and ''Maternité Suisse d'Elne'' in

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

). Between 1939 and 1944, she saved some 600 children who were mostly the children of Spanish Republicans, Jewish refugees and gypsies fleeing the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

invasion.

Biography

Elisabeth was a young teacher from Switzerland, teaching in Switzerland and

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

until she decided to join the ''Asociación de Ayuda a los Niños en Guerra'' ("Association to Aid Children in War"). After the fall of the

Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of democratic government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931 after the deposition of King Alfonso XIII. It was dissol ...

many Republican exiles sought refuge in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, including the

Roussillon Roussillon ( , , ; , ; ) was a historical province of France that largely corresponded to the County of Roussillon and French Cerdagne, part of the County of Cerdagne of the former Principality of Catalonia. It is part of the region of ' ...

, which is part of the

Northern Catalonia Northern Catalonia, North Catalonia or French Catalonia is the Catalan language, Catalan-speaking and cultural territory ceded to France by Spain through the signing of the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659 in exchange for France's effective renu ...

region. But almost all of them were stopped and held in concentration/

internment camps Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simp ...

. There, fenced in the beach without any infrastructure, with the sand as the only protection and without any sanitary measure, many of them died of malnutrition, disease and other afflictions. Many pregnant woman lost their unborn children or died in childbirth. Elisabeth had arrived in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

on April 24, 1937 as a volunteer as part of the aid team Ayuda Suiza but had relocated to the south of France. She spoke both Spanish and Catalan and, appalled by the situation of mothers and children amongst the refugees, Elisabeth decided to convert an abandoned mansion in Elne (adjacent to

Argelès-sur-Mer Argelès-sur-Mer (; ; ; ), commonly known as Argelès ( ), is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in the administrative region of Occitania, France. It is about 25 km from Perpignan. Geography Argelès-sur-Mer is located in ...

) into a maternity home. The group initially relied on voluntary donations from Europe, but after the start of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, funds dried up while refugees began to arrive from France and the rest of

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. These were mainly

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

women fleeing the Nazi occupation. Therefore, the group was forced to associate themselves with the

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

, and to abide by the policy of ''neutrality''. This would have prevented them from sheltering political refugees, mostly Jews. It was therefore decided that the identity of most of the refugees would be hidden in order to circumvent these laws. They were harassed by the

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...

and on one occasion detained. Some 400 Spanish children and 200 Jews from Europe were saved throughout this period. Some of the children born in the motherhood were called Nael (boys), Elna or Elisabeth (girls), in honor of her. She retired later in life to

Rekawinkel Pressbaum is a town in the district of St. Pölten-Land in the Austrian state of Lower Austria. In 1881, Johannes Brahms completed his Second Piano Concerto while in the town. It belonged to Wien-Umgebung District Bezirk Wien-Umgebung was a D ...

, 30 km from

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

(

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

) and in 2009 moved to

. In 2002 her work started gaining recognition with the publication of several books on her life and a reunion just before Easter 2002 when 60 of the survivors she helped save reunited in Elne to honour ''La Señorita''. She subsequently was * awarded the status of

Righteous among the Nations Righteous Among the Nations ( ) is a title used by Yad Vashem to describe people who, for various reasons, made an effort to assist victims, mostly Jews, who were being persecuted and exterminated by Nazi Germany, Fascist Romania, Fascist Italy, ...

by the

Government of Israel The Cabinet of Israel (; ) is the cabinet which exercises Executive (government), executive authority in the State of Israel. It consists of Minister (government), ministers who are chosen and led by the Prime Minister of Israel, prime ministe ...

in 2002.Elisabeth Eidenbenz
– her activity to save Jews' lives during the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

, at

Yad Vashem Yad Vashem (; ) is Israel's official memorial institution to the victims of Holocaust, the Holocaust known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (). It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; echoing the stories of the ...

website * made an honorary citizen of Elne * awarded the Orden Civil de la Solidaridad Social by the

Spanish Government The government of Spain () is the central government which leads the executive branch and the General State Administration of the Kingdom of Spain. The Government consists of the Prime Minister and the Ministers; the prime minister has the o ...

in 2006 * awarded the

Creu de Sant Jordi The Creu de Sant Jordi (, in English language, English 'St George's Cross') is one of the highest civil distinctions awarded in Catalonia (Spain), surpassed only in protocol by the Gold Medal of the Generalitat of Catalonia, Gold Medal of the G ...

by the

Generalitat of Catalonia The Generalitat de Catalunya (; ; ), or the Government of Catalonia, is the institutional system by which Catalonia is Self-governance, self-governed as an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. It is made up of the Parli ...

in 2006 * awarded the star of the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

by the

French Government The Government of France (, ), officially the Government of the French Republic (, ), exercises Executive (government), executive power in France. It is composed of the Prime Minister of France, prime minister, who is the head of government, ...

in 2007

References

External links

Noticias sobre Elisabeth Eidenbenz en ''Las madres de Elna''.

Elisabeth and her Maternité
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eidenbenz, Elizabeth Female wartime nurses People of the Spanish Civil War Swiss Righteous Among the Nations 1913 births 2011 deaths People from Pfäffikon District Swiss schoolteachers Swiss nurses Women in the Spanish Civil War Women in World War II 21st-century Swiss educators 20th-century Swiss educators 21st-century Swiss women educators 20th-century Swiss women