Finaly Affair

Last updated

The Finaly Affair was a legal dispute over the custody and kidnapping of Robert and Gerald Finaly, two Jewish children whose parents were murdered in the Holocaust. The fight for custody resulted in kidnapping charges against Antoinette Brun, the children's war-time guardian who defied court orders to surrender the boys to their surviving relatives after World War II. Catholic clergy members were also charged with kidnapping after hiding the children in Catholic institutions.

Contents

The Finaly case was widely reported in the French press. In 2020, materials released as part of the Pope Pius XII Archive revealed that the Pope had personally encouraged Brun to resist returning the boys to their family.

World War II

Jewish couple, Dr. Fritz Finaly and Anni Finaly, escaped Austria after it was annexed by Nazi Germany. They settled in Grenoble, France in 1939. The couple had hoped to escape to Bolivia, but were unable to secure safe passage due to immigration restrictions. [1] Fritz, a medical doctor, was not permitted to practice medicine in Grenoble due to antisemitic laws put in place by the Vichy government. The Finaly's two sons, Robert (b. 1941) and Gerald (b. 1942), were born in France. [2]

Fearing for the safety of their children, the Finalys left Robert and Gerald at Saint-Vincent de Paul nursery in Meylan on February 10, 1944, and shared the boys' location with family friend, Marie Paupaert. Fritz and Anni were detained by the Gestapo and sent to Drancy transit camp on February 14. [1] [2] [3] They were deported to Auschwitz on March 7 where they were killed. [1] [2]

Paupaert soon moved the boys to the convent of Notre-Dame de Sion. The Sisters of the convent then placed the boys with nursery school director, Antoinette Brun. [2]

Post-war

Custody battle

In February 1945, Marguerite Fischel, one of Fritz Finaly's three sisters, learned the fate of her family and, in May of the same year, secured the immigration permits needed for her nephews to join her in New Zealand. [1] [2] Fischel contacted Brun to ask for assistance with travel arrangements, but Brun would not commit to sending the boys. Brun then had a judge name her the boys' provisional guardian after concealing the existence of surviving relatives. [1] [2]

Auguste Finaly, the widow of Fritz's brother Richard Finaly who had also been killed in the Holocaust, appealed to Brun in-person on October 25, 1946. Brun refused to give up the boys and, according to Auguste, stated that 'the Jews are not grateful.' [2]

Marguerite Fischel requested assistance from the Mayor of Grenoble, the French foreign minister, and the Red Cross, but was unsuccessful. She approached the bishop of Auckland, who appealed to the bishop of Grenoble through the Archbishop of Westminster. [1] The bishop of Grenoble spoke with Brun, who still refused to surrender the boys to their family members. During his conversation with Brun, the bishop of Grenoble learned that Brun had had the boys baptized, though he did not share this in his July 1948 response to the family. In his correspondence with the bishop of Auckland, the bishop of Grenoble stated that he firmly opposed returning the children to their aunt. [1]

After three years of attempting to take custody of Robert and Gerald, their family enlisted the help of Moïse Keller, a Jewish family friend in Grenoble. Keller spoke with Brun in 1949, at which time she revealed to him that she had had the boys baptized. [1] Keller helped Fritz's sister, Hedwig Rosner, take the case to court. [1] [2] Between 1949 and 1952, Brun was ordered to give the boys to their family multiple times, but Brun's lawyers successfully appealed the rulings on technicalities. [4]

In 1952, the boys revealed that they only saw Brun two to three times a year. [1] From the ages of four or five, Robert and Gerald were mostly cared for in institutions run by the nuns of Notre-Dame de Sion in Paris, Grenoble, and Marseille. [4]

Kidnapping charges and bribery attempts

On June 11, 1952, the courts once again insisted that Brun turn the boys over to their family. Brun lost her final appeal in July of the same year, but did not present the boys as ordered. [1] Mother Antonine of Notre-Dame de Sion hid the boys at Notre-Dame de la Viste College in Marseille under the names Louis and Marc Quadri. [1] Nuns then moved the boys between Catholic institutions in Lugano, Switzerland, Paris, Voiron, Marseille, and Bayonne, where they were hidden under the names Francois Martella and Antoine Olivieri. [4]

On August 12, 1952, Anni Finaly's brother and the boys' uncle, Otto Schwartz, received a visit from Eugen Berthold, a Franciscan father from Vienna. Schwartz was living in Gmuend, Austria, after returning from exile in Shanghai. [4] [5] Berthold presented Schwartz with a letter from Brun in which she asked him to designate her as the boys' guardian so she could enroll them in a state school. Schwartz was aware of the custody case and would not provide a signed statement. On September 12, Berthold wrote a letter to Schwartz at the direction of Brun. In the letter, Brun offered to pay for Schwartz's train ticket so he could visit the boys at a Franciscan monastery in Strasbourg. Schwartz traveled the 34 hours to Strasbourg and visited the monastery twice upon arrival, but Brun refused to produce the boys. Brun claimed that the boys were now at a convent in Grenoble and offered to drive Schwartz there. Schwartz accepted after which Brun stated that she had lied and the boys were actually at a school in Chambéry, but Schwartz was not welcome there. Brun attempted to bribe Schwartz to say that he had visited her over Christmas or Easter and had given her guardianship. Brun then stated that she knew of a Swiss bank account in Fritz Finaly's name and that she would provide Schwartz with the papers needed to access the account if he agreed to a custody arrangement. Schwartz refused and filed an affidavit detailing his dealings with Brun. [5]

Brun was detained for kidnapping on September 16, 1952. [1] She was released in November, a decision that was opposed by the prosecution. The decision resulted in increased media coverage and interest in the case. [1]

Brun was arrested on January 29, 1953, but still refused to disclose the boys' location. Fearing the boys would be found, Mother Antonine had priests lead them on foot through the Pyrenees to San Sebastian, Spain. [4] Mother Antonine was arrested on kidnapping charges in February 1953. Dozens of accomplices were arrested around the same time. Photos of the arrests brought the case national attention. [1] [4]

Negotiations

Cardinal Gerlier of France and Jacob Kaplan, chief rabbi of Paris, negotiated the terms of the boys' return in March 1953. Spanish monks were not pressured by the Church to return the boys and continued to hide Robert and Gerald for an additional three months. [2]

The boys were handed over to Germaine Ribière, an associate of Cardinal Gerlier on June 26, 1953. [2] Hedwig Rosner was awarded legal guardianship of Robert and Gerald and flew with the boys to Tel Aviv on July 25. [2]

Present day

As of September 2020, Robert Finaly is a doctor and Gerald Finaly, who now goes by Gad, is an engineer. Both brothers reside in Israel. [2]

Pope Pius XII Archives

In March 2020, the Vatican unsealed the World War II-era records of Pope Pius XII. The documents show that the Vatican played a role in keeping the boys hidden and initially insisted that the boys remain Catholic when returned to their family. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pope Pius XII</span> Head of the Catholic Church from 1939 to 1958

Pope Pius XII was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his election to the papacy, he served as secretary of the Department of Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs, papal nuncio to Germany, and Cardinal Secretary of State, in which capacity he worked to conclude treaties with various European and Latin American nations, including the Reichskonkordat treaty with the German Reich.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rescue of Jews during the Holocaust</span> Help offered to Jews to escape the Holocaust

During World War II, some individuals and groups helped Jews and others escape the Holocaust conducted by Nazi Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aloisius Joseph Muench</span> American prelate

Aloisius Joseph Muench was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Fargo from 1935 to 1959, and as Apostolic Nuncio to Germany from 1951 to 1959. He was elevated to the cardinalate in 1959.

<i>Holocaust</i> (miniseries) 1978 American television miniseries directed by Marvin J. Chomsky

Holocaust (1978) is an American television miniseries which aired on NBC over four nights, from April 16 — April 19, 1978.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marie-Alphonse Ratisbonne</span> French priest and missionary

Marie-Alphonse Ratisbonne, NDS was a French Jew who converted to Christianity and became a Jesuit priest and missionary. He later was a co-founder of the Congregation of Our Lady of Sion, a religious congregation dedicated to the conversion of Jews to the Christian faith.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catholic Church in Israel</span> Overview of the role of the Catholic Church in Israel

The Catholic Church in Israel is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, in full communion with the Holy See in Rome. The Catholic Church in Israel is divided into three main jurisdictions: the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land, and the Salesian Mission. Each of these jurisdictions has its own responsibilities and areas of operation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of Grenoble-Vienne</span> Catholic diocese in France

The Diocese of Grenoble–Vienne-les-Allobroges is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in south-eastern France. The diocese, erected in the 4th century as the Diocese of Grenoble, comprises the department of Isère and the former canton of Villeurbanne (Rhône), in the Region of Rhône-Alpes. In 2006, the name was changed from the diocese of Grenoble to the diocese of Grenoble–Vienne. The current bishop is Jean-Marc Eychenne, appointed on September 14, 2022.

Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and its allies before and during World War II in Europe and North Africa. There is no universally accepted definition of the term, and it has been applied variously to Jews who survived the war in German-occupied Europe or other Axis territories, as well as to those who fled to Allied and neutral countries before or during the war. In some cases, non-Jews who also experienced collective persecution under the Nazi regime are considered Holocaust survivors as well. The definition has evolved over time.

The Congregation of Our Lady of Sion is composed of two religious congregations in the Roman Catholic Church founded in Paris, France. One is composed of priests and religious brothers, founded in 1852, and the other is composed of religious sisters, founded in 1843, both by Marie-Théodore Ratisbonne, along with his brother Marie-Alphonse Ratisbonne, "to witness in the Church and in the world that God continues to be faithful in his love for the Jewish people and to hasten the fulfillment of the promises concerning the Jews and the Gentiles"..

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Achille Liénart</span> French cardinal

Achille Liénart was a French cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Lille from 1928 to 1968, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1930.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mélanie Calvat</span> French religious sister and marian visionary

Françoise Mélanie Calvat, religious name Mary of the Cross, was a French religious sister in the Roman Catholic church. She and Maximin Giraud were the two seers of Our Lady of La Salette.

Pierre Maximin Giraud was a Marian visionary of Our Lady of La Salette.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pavel Peter Gojdič</span> Rusyn Greek Catholic monk and eparch

Pavel Peter Gojdič, was a Rusyn Basilian monk and the eparch of the Slovak Greek Catholic Eparchy of Prešov. He died while imprisoned by the StB, the secret police of the communist regime in Czechoslovakia. He was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 2001 and recognised as Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem in 2007.

The Jewish orphans controversy involved the custody of thousands of Jewish children after the end of World War II. Some Jewish children had been baptized while in the care of Catholic institutions or individual Catholics during the war. Such baptisms allowed children to be identified as Catholics to avoid deportation and incarceration in concentration camps, and likely death in the Holocaust. After the end of hostilities, Catholic Church officials, either Pope Pius XII or other prelates, issued instructions for the treatment and disposition of such Jewish children, some, but not all, of whom were now orphans. The rules they established, the authority that issued those rules, and their application in specific cases is the subject of investigations by journalists and historians.

The conversion of Jews to Catholicism during the Holocaust is one of the most controversial aspects of the record of Pope Pius XII during The Holocaust.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Germaine Ribière</span> French Catholic and member of the Résistance

Germaine Ribière was a French Catholic, member of the Résistance, who saved numerous Jews during World War II, and was recognized as a Righteous Among the Nations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catholic resistance to Nazi Germany</span>

Catholic resistance to Nazi Germany was a component of German resistance to Nazism and of Resistance during World War II. The role of the Catholic Church during the Nazi years remains a matter of much contention. From the outset of Nazi rule in 1933, issues emerged which brought the church into conflict with the regime and persecution of the church led Pope Pius XI to denounce the policies of the Nazi Government in the 1937 papal encyclical Mit brennender Sorge. His successor Pius XII faced the war years and provided intelligence to the Allies. Catholics fought on both sides in World War II and neither the Catholic nor Protestant churches as institutions were prepared to openly oppose the Nazi State.

<i>The Popes Jews</i> Book by Gordon Thomas

The Pope's Jews: The Vatican's Secret Plan to Save Jews from the Nazis is a 2012 book by the British author Gordon Thomas concerning the efforts of Pope Pius XII to protect Jews during the Nazi Holocaust. The Observer reported in 2013 that "Gordon Thomas, a Protestant, was given access to previously unpublished Vatican documents and tracked down victims, priests and others who had not told their stories before" and had uncovered "evidence on Pius XII's wartime efforts to save Jewish refugees".

During the Holocaust, the Catholic Church played a role in the rescue of hundreds of thousands of Jews from being murdered by the Nazis. Members of the Church, through lobbying of Axis officials, provision of false documents, and the hiding of people in monasteries, convents, schools, among families and the institutions of the Vatican itself, saved hundreds of thousands of Jews. The Israeli diplomat and historian Pinchas Lapide estimated the figure at between 700,000 and 860,000, although the figure is contested.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isaure Luzet</span> French pharmacist and politician (1899–1994)

Isaure Luzet was a pharmacist, French resistance fighter, and municipal politician, whose efforts to protect Jewish children during World War II was recognized in 1988 when she was included in the Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Poujol, Catherine (February 2004). "1945-1953: A short chronicle of the Finaly children's affair". Archives Juives.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Kertzer, Story by David I. "The Pope, the Jews, and the Secrets in the Archives". The Atlantic. ISSN   1072-7825 . Retrieved 2020-09-24.
  3. Benhamou, Rebecca. "Jewish children hidden twice over by the Church". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 2020-09-24.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Block Lazarus, Joyce (2008). In the Shadow of Vichy: The Finaly Affair. New York: Peter Lang Publishing.
  5. 1 2 "The Affair of the Finaly Children:France Debates a Drama of Faith and the Family". Commentary Magazine. 1953-06-01. Retrieved 2020-09-25.
  6. Povoledo, Elisabetta (2020-08-28). "Unsealed Archives Give Fresh Clues to Pope Pius XII's Response to the Holocaust". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2020-09-25.

Further reading

See also