In 1943, a 30-year-old nun found herself face to face with one of the most feared Gestapo officers in France.
Hidden nearby were dozens of Jewish children whose lives depended on her ability to keep a secret.
Mother Denise Bergen and her fellow sisters had turned their convent into a place of refuge for Jewish children fleeing Nazi persecution. Eventually, 83 children were hidden there. But when the Gestapo discovered that Jews might be sheltering at the convent, the danger became very real.
Klaus Barbie and his agents conducted repeated surprise inspections, including one nine-hour search of the convent. Barbie personally interrogated Mother Bergen—but despite the danger, she never revealed the children’s identities.
This is the remarkable story of courage, conscience, faith, and the choice to protect innocent lives during one of history’s darkest chapters.
In 1983, Denise Bergen was honored by Yad Vashem as one of the Righteous Among the Nations for saving 83 Jewish children.
Join us for this powerful story of a woman who chose extraordinary courage when the stakes could not have been higher.
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