En un regard
Le château en bref
The Château de Chabannes, in Saint-Pierre-de-Fursac, housed from November 1939 to January 1944 a children's home of the Œuvre de secours aux enfants (OSE), directed by Félix Chevrier, a journalist and musician recognised as Righteous Among the Nations. A refuge for 284 Jewish children aged 5 to 18, the establishment, most of whose staff were Jewish and without French nationality, preserved the Jewish identity of its residents (Shabbat, holidays, a renowned children's orchestra); until the summer of 1942 the children attended the nearby school run by the Paillassou sisters, also recognised as Righteous Among the Nations. Two round-ups threatened the establishment in August and September 1942; the one on 26 August led to the arrest of five children and one staff member, while the one on 1 September was partly thwarted thanks to Chevrier and Irène Paillassou. At the end of 1943, the children were transferred to Georges Garel's clandestine network, some of them crossing into Switzerland; the château then became a refuge for the French Resistance.