The deeply moving fate of a child who escaped the Izieu orphanage.

Samuel Pintel was 3 years old when World War II broke out. His father was soon made a prisoner of war. Samuel then lived in Paris with his mother. In 1942, there was a round-up of Jews in their building, but they managed to escape. His mother decided to go to France’s “free zone,” which had not been occupied by the Nazis yet. She left Samuel with a trustworthy, gentile couple, the Bosseluts, before embarking on her journey. She made it to Annecy, where Samuel was able to join her. But there was another round-up, this time in the housing center where they were staying.

Samuel’s mother told him: “Don’t stay with me, I’m not your mother anymore. Go with that woman!”, pointing at the only non-Jewish woman there. In doing so, she saved her son’s life. Samuel was then taken to the children’s home in Izieu, where he stayed for several weeks before the Bosseluts tracked him down and came to get him. Samuel would be the last child taken from the Izieu orphanage before the Nazis came. A short time later, all 44 children in the home were deported and sent to the gas chamber.

Lest we forget… Samuel Pintel chose to tell his tale so that no one could ever forget the children of Izieu, one of whom scribbled a note that said: “Tell people about us.”