Maurice Dubois

[3] In August 1942, the roundup and deportation of Jews without French citizenship in the area to concentration and extermination camps began.

A number of Jewish children who had taken refuge in the organization's building were arrested and brought to the Vernet camp.

In order to free them, Dubois traveled to Vichy and met with Marshal Philippe Pétain and René Bousquet.

Dubois's wife, Ellen, tried unsuccessfully to obtain entry permits to Switzerland from the Swiss Red Cross for the children staying at the organization's building.

Finally, in defiance of his superiors' instructions and in violation of French law, Dubois smuggled dozens of Jewish children into Switzerland.

Maurice and Ellenor Dubois (table in the background, 2nd and 3rd from the left), Red Cross staff meeting in Montluel, June 1942